Tycho
by Epsilon Grey
Summary: The Z warriors are recruited to fight in a war in a faraway galaxy. It's a cold, violent, dark tale of epic proportions.
1. Chapter 1

Tycho- The Last Stand  
  
"Goodbye, the future's sold out  
  
There's no use screaming  
  
Who'd thought we'd ever get this far?"  
  
-Our Lady Peace  
  
Prologue  
  
Rigel VII  
  
03.8.43  
  
2200 Hours  
  
His ribs were broken, he was sure of that. He could feel them pressing against his lungs, sending a crippling pain throughout his chest every time he drew a breath. He was moving as fast as he could, but it was no use. They were just too strong. He tried to remember how this had happened, how things could have gone so horribly wrong so fast, but the blows to his head were making it hard to think.  
  
He had lost contact with the rest of his team, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't have been able to communicate with them anyway. Every breath he drew was agony; there were at least 3 punctures between his two ribs and any noise he made was followed by spitting up a copious amount of blood. All he could do was try and survive, but even that was not likely to happen.  
  
Below him another battle raged, just as terrible and just as painful as his. He was able to catch glimpses of the scene under him as he tried in vain to dodge the series of punches and kicks thrown at him. Tracers were lighting up the night, crisscrossing and shredding the black with their brilliant reds and blues.  
  
Massive explosions from detonating artillery and high-explosive grenades turned night into day, shaking the earth with a fury and intensity that only war could bring. Fightercraft added their share of noise and death to the fray, shredding the blackness with roaring afterburners and rocking the ground with cluster bombs and fusion warheads. He could feel the close air support tearing past him at incredible speeds, flying with precision to their designated targets. But they were still losing.  
  
He was sure now that most of his team was dead. He could no longer sense their energy. Another set of bone-shattering blows returned his attention to the matter at hand. Desperately, he launched a clumsy counterattack of his own that was easily deflected by the creature. It knew no fear. Once it had finished with this distraction it would return to its primary mission. It was nearly done.  
  
It was nearly impossible to breathe now. The pressure in his chest was as agonizing. He was drowning in a sense of helplessness in the same way he was drowning from the blood filling his lungs. He was nearly prepared to embrace his death when he saw her. She was in worse shape than he, not even attempting to dodge the assault that was destroying her body. He saw her golden hair was stained with her own blood, and her right arm hung limply from her body. Her energy was fading quickly, her consciousness was not far behind.  
  
He could not let her die, not while he was still alive. With a sudden influx of power derived from his rage, he managed to evade his attacker and fly to her aid. He delivered a kick square to the side of the head of the alien, taking it by surprise and knocking it back a few feet. He turned to her and looked into her eyes. They knew this was the end. They fell into each other's arms, their golden and white auras meshing.  
  
The two aliens did not care what these creatures were doing. They wouldn't understand it even if they did. They reacquired their targets and continued the assault. The broken creatures were torn from each other's arms and dealt with. The female stared at her attacker, her body no longer registering the pain, and swallowed. The alien moved so fast she didn't even have time to register its movement. When its open palm smashed directly into her face, her world turned black.  
  
He saw her golden aura disappear, and watched her fall to the trembling earth. The alien moved in. It punched the soft creature directly in the gut, doubling him over in agony. Just before his consciousness slipped away, he took note of the brilliant scene below him. He could make out individual soldiers of his own side fighting their own losing battles. All he could think about was how sorry he was he couldn't save them. He never felt the final blow that shattered his white aura and drove him to the ground. The aliens, now sure that these hindrances could cause no further problems, returned to their primary objective.  
  
The sergeant saw the two warriors fall from the sky. He knew who they were, and knew they were the last. He also knew the battle was lost. There were just too many of them. The sergeant took note of where the warriors fell and turned back to his men. They too knew the end was near.  
  
"All right you sorry bastards, listen up!" he ordered. "Higgens, Yasta, Trina, Wervin, Thoth!"  
  
"Yes sir!" the marines returned to their leader.  
  
"We have a change in mission objectives. We have two fallen angels to save, do you understand me?"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
"They've fallen somewhere in grid C-321. After rescue and recovery we're gonna call for an immediate extract. I don't need to tell you we owe those two a hell of a lot. "  
  
He didn't.  
  
"Yes sir!" the marines shouted, their hearts filling with hope once again.  
  
"Okay, Yasta, Trina, cover our flank! The rest of you, we're gonna move in formation Tango-3! We will move on my mark! 3...2...1...MARK!"  
  
The marines rose from their position and began their move. Yasta and Trina laid down suppressing fire as the squad moved on. Their powered combat suits made moving much easier, allowing them to cover ground at amazing speeds. Their HUDs tracked the action around them, alerting them to dangers and targets. Their rifles were spitting fire and eliminating red blips from their screen. They could feel the ground rocking beneath them. When they reached their destination they beheld their objective.  
  
The two battered figures lay half dead about twenty meters from each other. The sergeant wasted no time in calling for the extract.  
  
"Actual Three Nine Bravo, this is Echo Eight Two Five, were are at grid C- 231 and request immediate extract. We have Angels One and Three in immediate need of evac, over."  
  
"Request for extract denied, Echo Eight Two Five. You know better than that. Get off the comm and hold your ground, soldier."  
  
"I say again Actual Three Nine Bravo, we have Angels One and Three in critical condition and in need of immediate extract!"  
  
There was a brief pause before the reply came, filled with the muted sounds of war around them.  
  
"We read you. Evac en route. Hang in there, Echo Eight Two Five, over."  
  
"Roger."  
  
The Sergeant gathered the two bodies, one in each hand, and laid them down behind him. He ordered his squad to form a staggered defensive perimeter around them, and to keep them alive at all costs. And so the battle raged around and above, both sides taking horrendous losses, turning the surface of the planet into an artificial hell. The aliens, however, clearly had the upper hand.  
  
For every one that fell, ten more were able to takes its place. The only thing preventing the invaders from a quick victory was the defender's fanatical zeal. For them, there was no tomorrow, and that made them strong. It was a professional army fighting against overwhelming chaos and fire. The sergeant and his squad were among the last survivors, having to rely on their superior training and tactics to stave off the invaders.  
  
Just as he was popping in his last clip, the sergeant heard the unmistakable sound of a dropship approaching. Its thunderous engines could be heard for a mile around. The few remaining strike craft were directed to give suppressing fire around the LZ, causing the aliens to pause in their advance. Exploding munitions were rocking the ground so heavily that it was becoming difficult to stand, but the sergeant ignored this triviality and focused on the task at hand.  
  
Once the dropship touched down and its ramp fell, he ordered his men aboard. He gave the two broken bodies to Thoth and turned to lay down some more cover fire. Just as Thoth turned to signal his Sergeant aboard, a group of dark figures emerged from a blast crater 60 yards out and sprayed withering fire. Their plasma bolts traced a path from the exposed tail to inside the ship itself, then down to the lone marine still outside. The polarized hull plating of the craft dissipated the energy and the shots inside went wild, causing only minor scoring along the wall plating. The Sergeant picked up the enemy as they emerged and returned fire only to be cut down himself. The bolts caught him in the chest, burned through his powered suit and easily through his soft flesh, killing him more or less instantly. The body fell back in a heap, prostrated before the gaping maw of recoiled salvation. By this time the automated turret hanging from the ceiling of the dropship tracked the aggressors and cut them down just as the pilot began her escape ascent into the flashing night sky.  
  
The squad was shaken at the loss of their leader, a man who had been with them since the inception of their unit. But he was not the only man to die that day. Rigel VII fell to enemy forces two and a half hours later. The Galactic Coalition had lost its 4th major engagement with Necron forces. The only hope they had of staving off their black, alien adversaries lay in the two bodies now receiving emergency triage in the dull gray interior of a dropship. They were the last survivors of the Angel program. 


	2. Chapter 2

"There is no reason good cannot triumph  
  
as often as evil. The triumph of anything  
  
is a matter of organization. If there are  
  
such things as angels, I hope they are  
  
organized along the lines of the mafia."  
  
-Winston Niles Rumfoord,   
  
Sirens of Titan  
  
"When the night has come,  
  
and the land is dark,  
  
and the moon is the only light we'll see,  
  
I'll be alright, just as long as you stand by me."   
  
-The Drifters  
  
Tycho Shipyards, Tycho System  
  
10.19.43  
  
0900 Hours  
  
Sabre was his name—the name most knew him by, anyway. He stood at six feet three inches, weighing in at 225 pounds, all of it muscle. His sandy brown hair and light blue eyes contrasted with his battle-scarred face. He was 26 years old, but the effects of war made him look much older.  
  
"Colonel," a female voice chimed through the ship intercom, "we will be docking with the Agamemnon shortly."  
  
Lost in his thoughts, Sabre hadn't noticed the view in his porthole was filling up with the massive frame of the flagship of the Galactic Coalition. She was the largest space-faring vessel ever constructed. At ten miles long, she dwarfed the second largest ship, the Braxis, by over six miles. It had a crew of 850,000, sporting the most advanced weapons, communications, astrometrics, medical facilities, AI, and everything else that was in the realm of technology. The need for such a large warship had come due to the war the Coalition was currently engaged in.  
  
The Galactic Coalition was the greatest civilization in known history. It had existed for 750 years and had flourished and prospered through almost all of that time. It consisted of 250 colonized planets and over fifty billion citizens, including Nameks, Saiyans, humans, Thrakans, Vortan, Danti, and a handful of other races. What was common among them was the fact that all had been removed from their home planets and relocated to the five inhabitable worlds of the Coalition's home system, Tycho. No one knew why, or how, they were taken from their homes. All they knew was that the race that had brought them here was long gone. However, their technology was not.   
  
Each race was in still rather primitive and barbaric when they were brought to the Tycho system. Tens of thousands of each race were placed on the planets, left to fend for themselves. They remembered nothing of their journey nor of the beings that transported them. Each race was shocked to encounter each other, for each had believed they were unique in the universe. All had thought themselves the pinnacles of creation. They were wrong.   
  
Of all the races, the humans had the hardest time adapting. The other races were far stronger, and nearly all of the humans were wiped out in various wars fought on each planet. Hundreds of years passed before the humans were finally shown mercy. By that time, each planets' inhabitants had managed to work the technologies left to them. When they took to the stars, they realized there were four other colonized worlds in the system, each containing about the same ratio of species on them. It took another few hundred years of warfare to finally sow the seeds of what would become the Galactic Coalition. While humanity on Earth was in the dark ages, the Coalition was colonizing nearby solar systems and terraforming worlds.   
  
For the last two centuries, after the end of the AI wars, the galaxy had settled into a relative peace and things were progressing well. When the wars ended, the dissident artificial intelligences had been eliminated, and all future AI's were programmed with failsafes to ensure the AI's would not revolt again. In a compromise, the leaders of the Coalition had agreed to allow the AI's more freedom than ever before, including giving all androids full rights and privileges of organic beings. The AI's seemed to be placated by the decision.  
  
The current war now was with the "Necrons" as they were dubbed, because of their solid black ships and soldiers. Just like out of a science fiction novel, no one knew who they were, or where they came from, they simply seemed bent on destruction. When they found a planet with life on it, sentient or not, they either bombarded it until it was a barren wasteland, or they invaded it. Either way, in the end, all life would be extinguished. The war was not going well. The Coalition was losing.  
  
Sabre was on his way to the flagship to finalize the plans for the Coalition's last stand at a planet known as Gargantua. Gargantua was the largest planet in the known universe. According to the laws of science, a planet with that much mass should collapse on itself and become a sun or black hole. (For comparison, the planet was as large as Pluto's orbit around the sun.) The only thing bigger than this planet was the sun it orbited around. X-395, the name of the sun, was fifteen times the size of the planet. How either of these two objects could exist could not be explained by science. The planet was so big that it had ten-year days and ten-year nights. When the sun set and rose on the planet, it was said to be one of the most beautiful sights in the universe. This planet had no moons, but scientists speculate that perhaps by some freak of nature that the planet had absorbed its moons, thus increasing its size, but that was just pure conjecture. Its massive size had generated gravity distortions powerful enough to rip holes in space-time.   
  
These phenomena, known as jump points, were found naturally in the universe, but around this planet, there were an unusually high number of them. Normally, the amount of jump points was relative to the given area of a system. A larger sector may have two or three jump points. The few million kilometers around Gargantua had eight.   
  
Already, over two billion lives had been sacrificed in the Necron war. Those were just the military's confirmed losses; civilian causalities were thought to be three times that. The situation was grim. The Coalition had lost sixty-five percent of its prewar territory and half of its operational forces. Gargantua was their last bastion of hope. That was why they need him for a mission.   
  
When he heard the airlocks cycling, Sabre stood up and proceeded to the exit of the shuttle. He was the only passenger aboard. Two young lieutenants met him at the gate and escorted him to a transporter pad. The ship was so massive that transporters were needed to move around the ship efficiently. He silently hoped to God that the lieutenants were not a representation of the entire crew; they looked as if they had just left the Space Academy.   
  
Sabre took up position in the middle of the pad. One of the Lieutenants joined him, the other activated the console. A glowing blue light surrounded him and his body was dissolved, transmitted, and reassembled on the bridge of the Agamemnon. He was glad the Lieutenant hadn't beamed him into a wall.  
  
The captain was expecting his arrival. "Colonel," greeted the captain curtly, "come into the conference room, everyone is waiting."   
  
The captain was a Saiyan female named Arestra who looked to be about thirty or so. She was a good two inches shorter than him, and wore the standard captain's uniform of the Galactic Coalition, with the addition of various medals and ribbons signifying that had the experience necessary for this command. Of course, nearly everyone in the service knew of her. She was one of the few captains to successfully engage Necron forces, but had also pulled off the miraculous defense of the Vega system.  
  
He followed her well muscled frame to the conference room and saw that all the remaining leaders of the Coalition were present. After he took his seat, General Vastu, the official leader of the Coalition's armed forces, spoke up.  
  
"Time is brief, so I must dispense with the pleasantries. Colonel, we have outlined a plan that should hold back the Necrons, at least for a little while. Why you are here will be explained shortly." Admiral Gridden, CINCCOMSF (Commander In Chief, Combined Space Forces) began the briefing. A large, three-dimensional picture of Gargantua appeared on a holopad in the middle of the conference table.  
  
"As you all know, we are making our final stand here, on and above the planet Gargantua. We are currently in full retreat from the main battle line in the Corprulu system. Elements of the 3rd, 9th, and 11th fleets will stay behind to buy us some time. For them, it is a suicide mission, they know this."  
  
Sabre recognized that the fleet elements remaining were all-Sayjin regiments. Those dumb Necron bastards were going to be in for it.  
  
"Our remaining forces will assemble in orbit above the planet. This group will consist of all the combat forces we have left. It will stand at 31 carrier groups with full fleet assets. As we speak, our Army and Marine Corps are digging in fortified positions on the planet. We are centering them at this point here," the admiral gestured to a flashing red blip on the image. It was just above the equator.  
  
"The gravity on the planet is highest there, at about 140 times standard gravity. It is the most strategically viable point to defend because they will have to come to us. Hopefully, they'll waste some energy before they hit our MLR (Main Line of Resistance). What's left of our ground forces are all on the planet."  
  
One general spoke up.  
  
"But sir, what will prevent them from simply unleashing an orbital bombardment?"   
  
It seemed like a logical question.  
  
Gridden responded. "We have set up enough air defense weapons to shoot down any bombs that they throw at us. If anything tries an atmospheric penetration for 5,000 miles around the base, it will be ripped to shreds before they even know what hit them. Our main concern is the beam weapons and the soldiers. Which they will undoubtedly land on the undefended areas of the planet."  
  
The admiral addressed the former first.   
  
"We are going to implement a large-scale planetary shield system, as is common on all of our inhabited planets. As you know, the Necrons' beam weapons only require a few seconds of concentrated fire to break through them."  
  
This was known all too well. Thousands of colonies had been destroyed already, the shields providing little hindrance to the Necron invaders.   
  
The admiral continued. "Our R&D has developed a new type of shielding that absorbs more energy than it reflects. Hopefully, if this technology works as it is supposed to, the more power they throw at it, the stronger the shields will become."  
  
Everyone shifted in their seats. This technology had been in development for years, but it was projected that the Necrons would wipe out the Coalition before the technology could be implemented.   
  
"As you know, our space forces are roughly equal in strength, although their numbers have always been superior. The only bright spot in this whole god-awful space mess is our trump card, the Agamemnon. As for the ground forces, this is where you come in Colonel. You are going to have a new outfit at your command."  
  
The colonel felt it necessary to point out the obvious.  
  
"What the hell good is that going to do? We all know even I can't take on their cyborgs." He found that out the hard way.   
  
Early in the war, Sabre was the commander of a special ops unit, 1st Angel Corps. Their job was to drop in behind enemy lines and disrupt communication and supply routes. All went well in the beginning. His squad was comprised of the strongest fighters in the Coalition, and each had special training and an ability that complimented the squad as a whole. The first twenty missions went off with out a hitch. Then things changed. They ran into Necron cyborgs that were more powerful than they could have imagined. Only two of the 15-member unit survived, himself included.   
  
"If all goes as planned, which it probably won't, we have about six months before the Necrons hit Gargantua. You and your outfit will train until then."  
  
"Understood."  
  
"As for your new unit, It will consist of yourself, Colonel D'Jana, and nine others you will meet and recruit in a days."  
  
"I have to recruit them? Are they new graduate recruits or are they Androids?" He was skeptical of who his new subordinates would be, because his men had been the best of the best.   
  
"Neither. They are not from around, for lack of a better term, here."  
  
"Okay," Sabre responded, "where am I going to find them?"  
  
"I think you will be most pleased with where you are going."  
  
"Oh yeah, where's that?"  
  
"Earth."  
  
The Admiral continued the briefing, but Sabre didn't hear a word. 


	3. Chapter 3

3  
  
Earth, Sol System  
  
11.2.43  
  
1300 Hours  
  
Goku watched in amazement and pride as his son pummeled the once mighty Cell, glad that his decision to send Gohan to fight had worked; he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if it hadn't. Although, he thought cynically, he wouldn't have lived long enough to regret it anyway.  
  
The rest of the Z fighters stood in shock. Their battered figures followed the lightning fast movements of the combatants as best they could. Each was hoping against hope that this would end soon, for Gohan was taking his time, and that was making things risky.  
  
Gohan delivered a blow to Cell's stomach and the villain cried out in agony. Everyone felt a change in Cell—he seemed to be growing weaker, but definitely looked liked he was about to vomit. When he did, to everyone's—especially Krillin's—surprise, he regurgitated Android 18.  
  
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" Cell cried out.  
  
Gohan's response was the murder in his eyes. He was about to deliver another crushing blow when he took notice of another, unfamiliar power level approaching. It wasn't all that impressive—only a little bit higher than Piccolo's—but it was enough to make Gohan reconsider his actions. The pumped-up Saiyan raised his hand and faced Cell. The realization of what he was about to do hit the monster as his hand began to flash. Cell's eyes widened in terror as a huge yellow blast enveloped and obliterated him completely.  
  
Once the action was over, Gohan turned to his surprised friends.  
  
"Do you guys feel that?"  
  
"Yeah! Way to go, man, you just killed Cell!" Krillin shouted in joy.  
  
The others began to join in until Piccolo called them to attention.  
  
"Wait, Gohan is right. Something is approaching."  
  
The shouts of joy died down as the warriors took notice. They looked around to see if they could discern where it was approaching from, but it felt as if it was surrounding them.  
  
Yamcha was nervous. "Hey guys, you feel that? It's like it's all around us."  
  
"Yeah, that is weird," said Goku. "I wouldn't worry about it though, I'm sure whoever it isn't going to be much of a threat. Besides, whoever it is isn't much stronger than Piccolo. No offense." He assured the Namek.  
  
"None taken," was his cool reply.  
  
Suddenly, a figure clad entirely in white dropped from the sky and landed in front of Gohan, who was actually surprised enough to take a step back. All of the warriors stared at the unexpected visitor. He was fairly tall, appeared to be human—about Tien's height—and wore an outfit similar to that of Goku, except that is was solid white. He bore no symbols on him, save for an insignia on his chest just above his heart. The letters GSO were discernable, with some type of foreign rank below them, all set on a background of an unfamiliar star system.  
  
The stranger bore a serious expression on his hardened, scarred face. He was silent until his eyes narrowed and fixed upon something behind Gohan.  
  
"So, you followed me here," he said to the empty space behind the young half-Saiyan.  
  
Everyone wondered who this guy was talking to. Was he a little crazy.  
  
"You are not leaving this planet," the stranger said icily.  
  
Before anyone had a chance to pose a question, the man began an awesome transformation. His hair flashed to a brilliant white and stood straight out from his head. His eyebrows changed color as well. His eyes seemingly disappeared and were replaced with glowing spheres of energy. His muscle mass increased three times in size, making him look much more formidable. The Z warriors went into shock when they felt his power skyrocket. He was definitely stronger than Gohan. Much stronger.  
  
They were even more surprised to see a large black figure appear behind Gohan, though nearly impossible to view in any detail as it seemed to be absorbing the light itself. It ignored Gohan and leapt at the glowing stranger. They moved so fast that no one could track them. If they were able to keep up, this is what they would have seen:  
  
The stranger took a fighting stance and began to deflect the blows launched at him. When he dodged a roundhouse kick by the alien, he made his move. He side-stepped the kick and sent a ferocious punch to its gut. He pulled back and kicked the alien in the side of its head, knocking it a few feet to the left. Before the black creature could recover he blurred behind it, took its head in his hands, and twisted. A dull crack was heard, then it fell to the ground, apparently lifeless. But the stranger knew better. He stepped back from his fallen adversary and lowered his hands, palms facing the creature. Glowing balls of energy began to gather around his hands, merging with a larger one in-between them. Bolts of blue lightning crackled around him, signifying a power-up.  
  
After a brief charge, he let go a tremendous blast, insanely powerful, yet entirely focused on the body before him. A small, smoking crater was all that was left. The entire set of events took place in within three seconds. When it was over, the stranger powered down and turned back to Gohan.  
  
"I apologize for the interruption. You have nothing to fear from me, I have come to ask for your assistance." His tone was matter-of-fact.  
  
Gohan was a bit suspicious. "Wh-, who are you?"  
  
"I'm a soldier."  
  
The stranger thought to himself, "Hmmm.... the boy is much stronger than I anticipated, he must have reached a new level of power. The Saiyans just keep getting tougher and tougher. This is good, they will need to become as strong as possible." He then turned his attention to Android 18.  
  
"She looks pretty bad." he observed. "Do you have anywhere we can take her? We're going to need her."  
  
After a moment of stunned silence, Vegita, characteristically hostile, spoke. He was even more furious than usual, now that another being had surpassed him in strength.  
  
"What do you mean we? Who the hell do you think you are?"  
  
The man turned his head to the Saiyan Prince. "You must be Vegita. As I said, I am a soldier."  
  
"How do you know my name?" Vegita demanded.  
  
"I know who all of you are."  
  
Tien inquired, "Why should we trust you? How do we trust someone who just drops from the sky an-"  
  
The man interrupted him, "Not from the sky exactly. From a ship orbiting your planet."  
  
"There's no way that can be possible! If you were human, we would have felt your power at some point!" Krillin shouted.  
  
"Just because I'm human doesn't mean I'm an earthling."  
  
A few moments of awkward silence passed, then Goku came up with an idea.  
  
"Hey everyone, why don't we all go to the Lookout? We can settle it all there."  
  
Piccolo stopped them. "Hold on Goku! You're too damn trusting! How do we know he won't just kill us all? You felt his power—it's even greater than Gohan's! And did you see that thing that followed him here? We don't even know what that was!"  
  
"Relax Piccolo, he just did us a favor. Obviously, we are dealing with something completely foreign to us. Let's just hear him out, okay?" Goku responded.  
  
Everyone looked around, and then Trunks, silent until now, offered his opinion.  
  
"I think we should trust him. He's definitely different, but I don't think he's evil."  
  
Vegita slapped him upside the head. "Who asked for your opinion, boy?"  
  
The stranger settled the matter himself. "Alright, I'll make this easy on you. I'll take android to your Kami's place. You can follow me if you want, and yes, I do know where the Lookout is." With that he took off, trailing a white streak across the sky.  
  
"Hey! Hold on!" Goku shouted. All of the Z warriors took flight and pursued this new mystery character.  
  
The man clad in white reached the tower quite a while before the others, since they were still hurting from the battle they just barely managed to survive. Gohan powered down from SSJ2 and stayed back to help his father along. He carried 18 over and placed her on the ground right in front of Krillin. The small bald man gulped when he looked at the blonde android.  
  
When they all finally arrived, he began the conversation.  
  
"You all are wounded. If you take these, you'll find yourself feeling much better." He held out his hand, revealing about a dozen white pills.  
  
The group of warriors looked at each other, not exactly sure what to make of the offer  
  
"These pills are similar to the Senzu beans you use. Just swallow them, and your wounds will heal."  
  
Piccolo eyed the stranger suspiciously.  
  
"How do we know those things aren't poisonous?"  
  
"I wouldn't need poison to kill you."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
The stranger didn't answer immediately. That probably hadn't been the best thing to say. Damn his anti-social tendencies—they don't need the fact that he could easily kill them all rubbed in their face. Gotta keep that ego in check.  
  
They cautiously expressed their gratitude in a chorus of agreement, except for Piccolo and Vegita. When 18 regained consciousness, she leapt up and took a fighting stance.  
  
"What is going on here? Where's Cell?" she asked, confused and shaken.  
  
Krillin tried to calm her. "18, don't worry, Cell is destroyed, and this man is here asking for our help."  
  
"What? How long have I been out? Where is my brother?"  
  
Krillin lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry, he didn't make it. He was destroyed with Cell."  
  
"What? No! Damn it! Damn you all!" she cried. 18 shot off into the sky, deeply distraught.  
  
"Wait!" Krillin shouted.  
  
Goku put his arm on his small friend. "It's okay. I think we should leave her alone for now. We can find her later." Krillin sighed, but agreed.  
  
Sabre addressed the group of warriors. "I am sure you are wondering who I am, and what I'm doing here." Almost everyone nodded their heads. Vegita narrowed his eyes. "My name is Sabre. That is what you can call me for now. I come from a galaxy a few hundred light years from here, and I represent the Galactic Coalition. This coalition comprises of various races, most of whom are unfamiliar to you. There are Nameks, a handful of humans, Thrakans, Ju'itsi, Braxons, and a few dozen others. But there are a few Saiyans here and there." Sabre ended there, anticipating Vegita's interjection.  
  
"That's impossible! Kakkarot and I are the only full-blooded Saiyans left! You are a filthy liar!"  
  
"No, I am telling the truth. There are Sayjins out there besides you two. They weren't on Vegita when it was destroyed. In fact, they weren't even born on the planet to begin with." Sabre began his narrative. "About seventy thousand years ago there was an ancient race of collectors called the Amnae who traveled through this part of space. They went throughout the galaxy collecting various life forms and relocating them in different solar systems. No one has yet determined why. Humans, Nameks, Saiyans, and many others ended up on planets in a certain solar system. Now it is the current headquarters of the Galactic Coalition. The reason I need your help is quite simple. We are losing a war with a race of aliens we call the Necrons. The creature I disposed of back there is one of them. Aside from me and my partner, you all are the strongest fighters outside of our Coalition. You also have the most potential, as well as the most experience fighting a superior force. It seems to be your forte. "  
  
"Why do you need us? You seem to be quite capable of defeating these "Necrons" all by yourself. You certainly put that thing in its place. And you seem to know an awful lot about us." Piccolo said, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"I know almost everything about you because the Coalition has remote sensor stations in nearly every part of this sector of space. Before the war broke out, we were considering making first contact with Earth. You all were being studied very closely. As for the Necron that followed me here, it was just a low-grade assassin. But I'm not strong enough to take on their best fighters. Their cyborg monstrosities are a lot stronger than me." His tone lowered considerably, his speech holding traces of anger. "I was able to hold off their standard fighters quite easily, but at some point they let loose squads of their cyborg creations, and...I was unable to stop them. I barely escaped alive. We first met these cyborgs on Rigel Seven. By 'we', I mean me and my team, the 1st Angel Corps. My unit was made up of the best of the best, and I trained each of them myself. They were more or less equal to you all in power. Each person in my team had a special ability. Some were techie geeks, others had powerful area suppression techniques, etceteras. When the cyborgs came...only myself and one other made it out alive. It was sheer butchery."  
  
"Now," he sighed, "I need you to be my new team. You all will join me and Resa, the other remaining Angel."  
  
"Whoa! Hold on a second! If you and your team couldn't handle them, what makes you think we can?" Krillin asked rather shakily.  
  
"We're going to train. Your current techniques are ineffective and each of you has a weakness that we need to eliminate. For example, Vegita's is his arrogance, yours and Yamacha's is self-doubt, Goku's is his forgiveness and so on. I've also noticed that you three," Sabre pointed at Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien, "are significantly weaker than the rest. Don't worry about it, I'll train you personally."  
  
"There's no way we're gonna get as powerful as you, we can barely keep up with the other guys!" Yamcha cried.  
  
"There is that self-doubt. You are your own worst enemy. Let me tell you something. I am a full-blooded human, just like you. Anything I can do, you can do."  
  
The statement seemed to placate the human's doubt, but Vegita was still recalcitrant.  
  
"What makes you think we'd even consider helping you and your stupid Coalition. Why the hell should we care what happens to you and your pissant sector of space?" Vegita challenged.  
  
"Well, it's simple. If you don't help me now, it's only a matter of time before the Necrons reach this quadrant. One of them was already here. It only took me a week to reach here by standard faster-than-light travel. And the Necrons already have the location of this planet and every other one in the Coalition database when they managed to capture a forward command ship. When they inevitably arrive, you and your friends will probably hold of the first wave of Necrons until the cyborgs show up, and then you will die. I'm essentially asking you to do what you've always done, which is save the lives of others."  
  
Vegita simply grunted and turned away.  
  
"Now, we don't have to leave right away, I'm sure you will want to talk it over, so I'll go fly around for awhile. I've always wanted to come to my ancestral homeworld. I'll be back in three Earth hours. That should be enough time for you to reach you decision."  
  
No one said anything else, and with that Sabre nodded his head and shot off, once again leaving a brilliant white trail in his wake.  
  
Tien whistled. "Wow. You guys, I'm not sure what should we do."  
  
Krillin opined, "Well, I'm still not sure we can trust him. It might be a trap."  
  
"But you guys, if he wanted to hurt us, why didn't he do it already? He could've easily killed us all, but instead he healed us," reasoned Gohan.  
  
Trunks was less sure. "Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with Gohan, but this is all so sudden. This guy literally shows up out of nowhere and asks us to fly off into the galaxy with him."  
  
"What do you think?" Piccolo asked Goku.  
  
"I'm not sure. I think we can trust him, but we still need to find out more about him and these 'Nercons' we're supposed to fight."  
  
"Necrons," corrected Gohan.  
  
"Right. Anyway Gohan and I are gonna go to Master Roshi's. I'm going to have to talk to Chi-Chi about this, and I don't think she's going to be thrilled."  
  
"Well, I guess I'll go back to Capsule Corp. and talk to my mom," Trunks said.  
  
"Hey Goku, I'm gonna stay here in case 18 returns," said Krillin. He desperately hope she would.  
  
"I guess me and Yamcha will go with you, then," Tien added.  
  
"Well?" Goku asked Vegita and Piccolo  
  
"Well what, Kakkarot? I'll be around. Don't bother finding me, I'll find you." Vegita then promptly shot off into the horizon leaving a blue streak in his wake.  
  
"I'm going to stay here and talk to Dende about this whole god-awful mess. And besides, we have to undo the damage Cell did to the Earth. We'll summon the dragon and bring back everyone that monster killed."  
  
Goku announced the plan. "Alright guys, I guess we'll meet back here in three hours." 


	4. Chapter 4

8  
  
Earth, Sol System  
  
11.2.43  
  
1500 Hours  
  
He was pretty sure he was flying somewhere over Africa now, because he had been flying over a desert for quite some time. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was heading; he just let his body take control. It was dark. He was lost in his thoughts most of the time while crossing the Atlantic when something caught his eye. It was the Statue of Liberty.  
  
A flood of emotions ran through him when he caught sight of the green statue. He had seen it before in a few pictures, but it was completely different looking at it in person. This edifice stood for all that was just and right. He remembered the inscription on the pedestal on which it stood:  
  
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest- tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"  
  
At one point, the Coalition stood for all of that. Now it was being destroyed piece by piece.  
  
He floated above the statue for quite a while, knowing that this would probably be the only time he would ever get to see it. After a few minutes he looked past it and onto the city she stood in front of. New York City, perhaps the greatest city ever constructed, with perhaps the exception of ancient Rome. Its twinkling lights pierced the darkness, illuminating the skyscrapers against the thickening blackness.  
  
He noticed that the city hadn't changed all that much in its long and colored history. The layout was the same, although technology had changed the buildings from simple apartments to massive skyscrapers. He flew over Times Square, not caring if anyone noticed him. After all, he'd be gone in a few hours. He then proceeded to fly over the residential districts and landed in a small park outside the Bronx.  
  
Feeling in the mood for a stroll, he wandered about the area, feeling content to move about aimlessly. This led him into a rather poor and run- down part of the city, and what few seedy looking characters took notice of him left him to his business. He stood out terribly, dressed in his solid white uniform. That made him either a fool or a bad ass.  
  
He rounded a corner on a quiet street and made out what sounded like a stifled cry. It was barely audible and it took some concentration on his part to determine its location. It seemed to be emanating from the alley to his two o'clock. As he entered the alley he saw a young girl, no more than fifteen, curled into a ball on the ground. Above her stood a large black man, holding some sort of blunt instrument.  
  
Crimes of this nature were rare in the Coalition, with the law being extremely unforgiving, but he recognized brutality when he saw it. Sabre narrowed his eyes and approached the man.  
  
With his back turned the man had no idea anyone approaching him. He wordlessly raised the weapon to strike the girl again when an iron vice grabbed his hand. Then he heard a series of snaps. Before brain could register the pain, his hand and forearm had been broken in fourteen different places. Sabre then threw the man out onto the street in, all in one fluid motion. The thug tumbled and rolled to a stop some distance away.  
  
Sabre returned his attention to the girl. She was still curled into a ball, still softly crying, oblivious to his intervention. He kneeled down next to her.  
  
There was no need to ask if she was okay. Her left eye was swollen shut and tears ran freely down the sides of her face. She was bleeding from the corners of her mouth, nose, and from a deep gash on her forehead. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was matted with blood and dirt. It looked like her nose and right cheek bone were broken as well. Some teeth were knocked out of alignment too. The fact that she was even conscious surprised him. She was tougher than her frail appearance belied.  
  
"Who..." she cough up some blood. "Who... who are y-y-you?  
  
"Shhh. Relax, I'm here to help. Don't move, I'm a doctor," Sabre methodically assured the terrified girl. It was technically true; he'd had plenty of triage experience in the field.  
  
"It...hu-" She coughed more blood, "It... hurts..."  
  
There was no way this girl would survive much longer, even if he got her to a hospital. Long ago he was taught to recognize the difference between the ones that could be saved and the ones that had to be let go. Under normal circumstances she would fall into the latter category, especially since she was a non-Coalition citizen on a planet the Coalition had yet to make formal contact with, while the Coalition was at war with a superior alien race. But this situation was not normal. There was no justification to let this girl die in an alley. He reached into his breast pocket and took out one of the few remaining pills, putting it in her mouth.  
  
She swallowed and her wounds healed almost instantly.  
  
The girl slipped into a state of shock. She had just been beaten to within an inch of her life, and suddenly she felt fine. She looked up to see a young man standing in front of her, dressed rather strangely for the city. She immediately got to her feet and backed against the alley wall. She was panicking.  
  
"Who are you? Did Danny send you? Please...Please don't hurt me... not again...I'm sorry...I won't...I won't...Just don't hurt me." She broke down into tears.  
  
Well, that'd been unexpected. She must've thought he was the guy that did this to her. It was understandable; it's not like this was the first time misdirected fear had been placed upon him.  
  
"Please," said Sabre, "calm down. I'm not here to hurt you."  
  
"Who are you? I've never seen you before. Danny sent you, didn't he... please..."  
  
"No, I don't know Danny. I'm not going to hurt you."  
  
She turned and bolted out of the alley. Obviously, she didn't believe him, but it didn't matter, she was safe now. He was about to take to the sky when something compelled him to take one last look at her. Sabre stepped out of the alley and saw the girl had stopped not too far away.  
  
She was frozen in terror. He saw the cause: a large group of young men were coming down the block.  
  
One of them called out to her. "Hey, bitch, what you doing back on the street? I thought Jamal was taking care of you."  
  
The girl remained still, petrified. As the men closed in Sabre moved in front of her. A dark part of him opened up. He could have easily grabbed her and flew on, but the burning urge to crush these thugs was too great. No one else would ever know what happened here.  
  
"Who the hell are you? Where is Jamal" the apparent leader of the group—a short, stocky, mean looking thug—said. He looked past Sabre and saw his friend lying in the street, motionless. It was the last thing he saw. Sabre fluidly moved through the group of men, striking each one of them with a closed fist. When it was over, eight corpses lay in the street. He felt no triumph, he felt no sense of justice. Just cold. Their lives meant nothing to him. Something deep within him told him this was not right. He returned his attention to the girl.  
  
She was silent for what seemed like an eternity, her hair fluttering gently in the cool city breeze, mouth agape.  
  
"What did- Why did-? How-? Who are you?" she stammered.  
  
"I'm just a man."  
  
"No, men don't do things like that. Men can't move that fast. I just blinked, and they were all dead. What the hell are you?" Sabre said nothing and turned to leave.  
  
"Who are you? Don't just walk away from me! Please, please don't leave me!" She grabbed his arm and looked into his eyes.  
  
He recognized that look. He had seen it on a dozen worlds, people desperate for an answer, for a way out. Long ago he hardened himself against it. He saved her life. He wanted nothing more to do with this wretched soul. Sabre pulled away from her grip and was about bolt into the sky when she touched his mind. It was very gentle, but searching, looking for something to hold on to. Something to make him stay. It worked.  
  
He turned and looked into her eyes, which were much different, no longer filled with despair. They were strangely moving.  
  
"Do you know what you're doing?" he asked.  
  
"No. I--. I didn't do anything. Please, just don't go."  
  
"I think you do know. I think that is what got you in trouble with those men." Her eyes darted briefly to the bodies strewn in the street. "Do you know any others like yourself? Have you met anyone else like you?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
He remembered that telepathy had yet to surface to any meaningful degree on Earth.  
  
"Can-can I come with you? Please, I'll do anything, just get me out of the city. You're going out of the city, right? I'll do whatever you want." She stepped forward, placing her hands on his chest. He could feel her presence in his mind again.  
  
"Don't do that," Sabre said icily. The girl quickly retracted her hands and averted her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry, I just don't know what to do. I jus-" he cut her off.  
  
"You're right. You don't belong here." Her countenance filled with hopefulness. "But I am giving you a choice, because you are not like the others here, and your abilities will only get you into more trouble than you already are. I am warning you, where I am going, you may be even less safe than you are here. But you will no longer be alone. That is all I will say."  
  
"Look," her voice filled with a resolve he did not expect, "I don't care who you are or where you are going, as long as it is away from here. My life is a fucking wreck. I don't have anything left. My parents died when I was a kid, and I've been on my own ever since. Those guys you took care of were only a handful of the ones that are after me, because I've fucked up real bad, and I'm in real trouble. I know, it's another fucking hardknock story, but I don't want to have my life end in the gutter where I was born. So please, save your warnings and just get me out of here."  
  
So, she had a strong will after all. As he should have known, appearances can be deceiving.  
  
"Fine. But you have no idea what you are getting yourself into." Sabre stepped forward and encircled her with one arm. She tensed at first, until she realized they were lifting off the ground. Her eyes grew as wide as tennis balls.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked a second time.  
  
"I'm a soldier. A soldier in an army in a war you know nothing about. This is just the first of many surprises for you."  
  
"Goddamn," was all she had to say. They both looked down at the city expanding beneath them. He began to accelerate forward, keeping a tight grip on the small girl he held in his arms. He slowly built up speed until the wind became a hindrance.  
  
"I'm cold!" she said above roaring wind.  
  
In response he flared his ki, shielding him and the girl from the airflow. This allowed him to go faster, and he accelerated again. After a few second there was a loud boom.  
  
He could tell she wondered what it was, but she said nothing.  
  
"Sonic boom," he informed her.  
  
She didn't understand until she looked down and saw the city fading behind her and the ground flying blurring beneath her.  
  
He kept accelerating until he hit about mach 5, not feeling the need to raise his power level any higher. He would reach the Lookout in plenty of time at this speed. He increased his angle of ascent, leaving the ground far behind.  
  
The girl had many questions, but one seemed to press her more than the rest. It also seemed the most relevant.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
The man in white was silent for some time. She thought he wasn't going to give an answer when he at last replied.  
  
"Jake. You can call me Jake."  
  
"Well, Jake, flying man, my name is Eve. And this is fucking insane."  
  
They were silent for the rest of the flight, each deep in thought. Far below a fisherman in a small boat stepped out of his cabin and into the evening air. He looked up to see a white streak arcing in the sky. Figuring it to be a shooting star, he made a wish. 


	5. Chapter 5

Earth, Sol System 11.2.43 1610 Hours  
  
Jake could feel the group of warriors was already gathered at the lookout. How he was going to explain this new development, he had no idea. The flight there gave him plenty of time to think about how ludicrous the situation really was. The girl's power of persuasion was certainly developed. He would have to be careful of that.  
  
He gracefully landed on the white marble floor of the floating inverted dome and let go of Eve, who moved off to the side and behind him. All of the warriors were gathered together, except for Vegeta, who stood aloof, still eyeing him suspiciously. Dende stood behind them. 18 was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Piccolo was not happy with the addition of another person to the lookout. "Who's the girl?"  
  
Sabre sighed. He decided the best way to deal with the situation was to simply put it off. "The girl is none of your concern. She'll be coming with us. She won't be in our way."  
  
"This girl is our concern. And so are you. You have no right to bring an ordinary girl here. This ground is sacred an-"  
  
Dende interrupted him.  
  
"No, Piccolo, I don't think she is an ordinary girl. She's...different somehow. But I believe she is also the least of our concern at the moment." Piccolo grunted but said nothing.  
  
Goku stepped forward.  
  
"Okay Sabre, I don't know if we're ready to go off and fight another battle. We'd like to help, but, things around here have been rather hectic lately and we're not sure if going off into space would be the best thing to do right now. We'd like to know more before we make a decision."  
  
Sabre understood their reluctance. Going off to war never sounded like a good idea. "Alright. What is it exactly you would like to know?"  
  
"Well, we'd like to know more about this enemy you're facing, and more about you."  
  
"I'll address the former first. To be honest, we don't know all that much about them. They first attacked us roughly two years ago without warning or provocation. Necron biology is a mystery to us. We do know they aren't carbon-based life forms." Goku had a blank stare on his face. Sabre had forgotten that although this group of warriors was powerful, they hadn't had much in the way of formal education.  
  
"They aren't made up of the same stuff you and I are. Whatever it is, our scientists have never seen it before. Their army is vast. In every engagement, we have been outnumbered at least four to one. We have not been able to establish contact with them, nor have they shown any interest other than destroying everything they find." Sabre paused, realizing the effect he might be having and decided to switch tracks.  
  
"I know this is hard for you to believe," he said. "You have never been asked to be a part of something like this before and your experience has been limited to maniacal villains and their henchmen. This is on a much greater scale. This is a war." Tien wasn't convinced.  
  
"But why do you need us? If there are all these Saiyans and Nameks and other races in your Coalition, why can't you train them?" The question was certainly valid. Everyone had thought it was a bit odd that this uber- powerful warrior would venture so far outside of his Coalition to seek help when there should be plenty of viable alternatives where he came from.  
  
"All of our other assets are currently engaged. Our strongest warriors are needed on the front. There is no time to pull them back and put them through the training I have developed for you all."  
  
"Then why are you here? Unless, of course, if you aren't the strongest after all," challenged Vegeta.  
  
"I am the only one capable of training you to the extent where you would become useful assets," was Sabre's flat reply.  
  
The air seemed to grow heavy with tension until Goku asked, "And what about yourself?  
  
"I am a human, born on Eridia, in the Tycho system. I was raised by my parents until I went off to the Academy. It was there I discovered my ability to transform. After that I was 'recruited' by the GCS military. I have been with it ever since."  
  
Goku was about to speak, when Eve, silent and still until now, cut him off.  
  
"I'm sorry, but what the hell is going on here? And what the hell are these green guys? What the fuck have you gotten me into?" Jake spared her a glance.  
  
"I told you that you had no idea what you were getting yourself into."  
  
Eve was panicking. "You're goddamn straight you didn't! Get me out of here, now! I'm not going off to some war with aliens I didn't even know exist! Take me back, now!"  
  
"Do you want me to take you back to the alley where I found you?" was his cold reply. That shut her up.  
  
Goku was concerned. "You mean you just met this girl? Where did you find her?"  
  
"I told you, it is not your concern." The edge in Sabre's voice caused the warriors to tense. They were not about to be caught off guard if things got out of hand.  
  
Dende realized the need to diffuse the situation. "Goku, I'm sure he has his reasons. It's alright. The girl will be better off with him. I do not know exactly why, but I can feel that she does not belong here. As for his intentions, I feel that you can trust him."  
  
"Dende's right. As much as I don't like this guy, Kami is telling me the same thing," Piccolo admitted.  
  
"So, guys, where do we go from here?" Goku turned and asked his friends, scratching his head.  
  
"Let's go inside and discuss this some more," proposed Tien.  
  
Goku agreed. "Good idea, Tien. Uh, Sabre, why don't you wait out here while we go over a few things. You could show, you're uh, lady friend around while we talk."  
  
Sabre nodded and took Eve with him to the edge of the lookout. The rest of the group turned and went inside the lookout's meeting chamber, where Bulma and Chi-Chi were currently residing. They had already agreed to come along with the stranger, but with the new information, he provided planted seeds of doubt in their minds. And his reluctance to discuss the girl's presence there did little to earn their trust.  
  
"So, Goku, did you tell that man you're not flying off into space with him?" Chi-Chi asked, tapping her foot.  
  
"No, not exactly, you see-"  
  
Chi-Chi exploded. "Damn it Goku, I'm tired of you always going off to fight! All I want to do is be with my husband and son and live something resembling a normal life! How can you even trust this man?!"  
  
Vegeta laughed. "Ha, Kakkarot, you can't even keep your woman in check!"  
  
"Shut up, Vegeta," ordered Bulma.  
  
The Saiyan prince was incensed. "Woman, don't you dare talk to me like that!"  
  
Trunks stepped in before the warring couples got out of hand. "Look, everyone, calm down. I know we've all been under a lot of stress lately, but we have something important to decide here. Are we going to go, or not?" Vegeta looked as if here were about to once again insult his son from the future, but he said nothing.  
  
Tien spoke first. "Well, if what this man says is true, we don't have much of a choice. We'll have to fight these Necrons some time. I say we go."  
  
"Yeah, I'm with Tien on this," said Yamcha.  
  
Piccolo made up his mind. "Although I don't like this entire situation, especially coming right after fighting Cell, I don't see what choice we have. Sabre could force us to come with him, if he wanted to."  
  
Trunks felt differently. "You're probably right, but I don't think he'd do that. He's a little off, a little cold, but I think we can trust him to an extent. He did come to us for help, after all. Didn't I do the same with you guys?"  
  
"You're right, Trunks. If his people are in danger, we should try and help him. I think we'll have a fighting chance if we work together." A smile spread across Goku's face. "Maybe you can even come with us, Chi-Chi."  
  
Goku's wife sighed with resignation. "Fine, Goku, I'll allow you to go, as long as I can be with you. I assume you'll want to take Gohan with you, and I'm not staying home alone any more."  
  
"Good luck with your woman, Kakkarot. I hope she is not too much of a distraction for you," Vegeta snorted.  
  
"Well, Vegeta, if Chi-Chi is going with them, then so am I. This would be a fantastic opportunity for me to study advanced technology. Who knows, I may even be of some use." Bulma relished the look on Vegeta's face.  
  
"There is no way you ar-" Bulma put her index finger in the enraged Saiyan's face.  
  
"Yes, I am coming, and no, there is nothing you can do about it. That's all there all this to it." Vegeta let out a roar and stormed out of the room. His characteristic behavior lightened the mood in the room. At least some things would never change.  
  
Goku turned to Krillin, who had yet to say anything.  
  
The tiny man sighed heavily. "Well, if you all are going, I might as well follow. I don't have a good feeling about this, but I don't want to let you all down. So much for settling down with a quiet life."  
  
Goku was glad that everyone agreed. "Alright, I guess that settles it. But what do you guys think about that girl? I get a strange feeling from her, not a power exactly, but something like it."  
  
"Yeah dad, I know what you mean. Maybe that's why he brought her here?" Gohan offered.  
  
Tien said to Goku, "Well, we all know asking him won't get us anywhere. But by the way he's acting, she must be pretty important to him."  
  
"Even if they just met?" Yamcha asked.  
  
Tien shrugged. "I guess we'll find out later."  
  
Goku clapped his hands. "Well, if we've come to a decision, I guess we should go talk to Sabre. Anyone else have anything to add?" Piccolo did.  
  
"I don't think we should let our guard down. Even though he is asking us for our help, we are getting ourselves into a something we have no experience with. We need to be careful."  
  
"Agreed. Anything else?"  
  
Each had their own reservations, but none voice them. Goku wanted to go, so they followed; that's just how things were. The group moved outside to find Sabre and Eve where they left them, at the periphery of the lookout. Eve was sitting at the edge, her legs dangling over, and Sabre was standing erect, the wind gently rippling and tugging at his uniform. It didn't look as if they were talking. Vegeta was leaning up against a pillar in the courtyard, grumbling to himself. The group moved over to the two newcomers, who seemed oblivious to their return.  
  
"Have you come to a decision yet?" Sabre asked, his back still turned.  
  
"Yes, we've decided to come with you, but, Bulma and Chi-Chi have sort of demanded that they come too."  
  
Sabre turned around and looked at the two women, who stood glaring at him, arms folded. He said nothing for a moment, then, "That is acceptable. When will you be ready to leave?"  
  
Before Goku could respond, Android 18 dropped out of the sky and landed behind Earths' defenders. She pointed to Sabre and said, "I'm coming with you." If anyone had been looking at Krillin, they would have seen his face light up.  
  
"Fine. May I ask why you have decided this?"  
  
Her eyes darted to Krillin. "No, you may not," she replied tersely.  
  
"Fair enough. As for the rest of you, my ship in orbit is waiting for my signal to pick us up."  
  
Chi-Chi stepped forward. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but Goku, Gohan and I all have to pack. I am not going off into space without the proper belongings."  
  
Bulma felt the same. "Trunks and I have to get some things together too. Vegeta too; he left all his stuff back at Capsule Corps when he walked out."  
  
Sabre was satisfied. "Very well. Gather your belongings. I'll be here when you are ready to leave. The sooner, the better."  
  
The group mingled for a few minutes, then went their respective ways. Goku used his instant transmission to bring his family back to their home. Trunks and Bulma left in a Capsule craft, after trying in vain to get Vegeta to come with them. Krillin and Yamcha left together for their own homes, which had been vacant for quite some time. Tien, who was a wanderer, left to find Choatzu and tell him of the events that had transpired. Piccolo and Dende went back inside the lookout to discuss some matter that they wished to keep private. That left Vegeta and Android 18, who waited on different sides of the Lookout, absorbed in their own thoughts.  
  
Jake stood and looked out into the sky, then down at Eve, who hadn't moved or said anything since her outburst. Although she was silent, he could feel the agitation stirring in her mind. This girl was an anomaly, who in no way fit into his mission parameters. Her telepathic abilities, though limited, were increasing, and neither he nor anyone on board his ship was equipped to deal with a potentially rouge telepath. But, it was his fault she was here, and he would have to deal with it the best he could. Part of that involving having a successful conversation with her. He racked his brain with something neutral to breach the silence with.  
  
"What do think of all this?" was the best he could come up with.  
  
"Well, now that I've found out aliens exist, that people can fly, and that fact that I'm sitting on the edge of a giant, floating palace, I think that this is pretty fucked up," was her sarcastic reply.  
  
"I guess it is."  
  
She stood up and looked into his eyes. "What's going to happen to me?"  
  
"I don't know. For now, you'll be traveling with us," he felt something dancing about on the edge of his mind.  
  
"You're hiding something from me."  
  
Jake grabbed Eve by the throat and lifted her off the ground, taking the girl by surprise. The presence left his mind. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "Don't ever try that again. Do you hear me? Do not look into my mind ever again." He released his grip, and Eve fell to her knees, gasping and coughing.  
  
"You're just like them," she gagged out.  
  
Sabre turned and looked out into the sky. "No, I'm not." The words sounded hollow, even to him.  
  
Vegeta, some distance away, pretended not to notice what transpired. 18 looked over curiously, but said nothing.  
  
When she could breathe normally Eve asked, "Why did you even bother to take me here?" Her words were venomous.  
  
Jake looked back at Eve. "Because I took pity on you. But do not think because I pity you that I will allow you do what you please. You can't enter other people's minds without their permission."  
  
"Why? So they can just lie? That's all people do, anyway."  
  
"If that is what you believe, then fine. But you know the consequences if you try to enter my mind again."  
  
"Fine. Whatever."  
  
Jake turned away and looked back out into the sky. The girl was definitely street-tough, and most definitely jaded.  
  
The two remained in a tense silence until sunset. It was a majestic sight from this altitude—the color of the sky changed from yellow, to orange, and finally to red as it sank below the horizon. Eve sighed.  
  
"This is so beautiful. I've never seen a sunset like this." Jake could feel Eve's mind calming. "I'm...I'm sorry for trying to get into your mind. It's just what I've always done. It's why I've always been in trouble. You were right."  
  
Jake was pleased the girl was settling down, finally. He chose to be honest with her. "Eve, when we get to Coalition space you'll be taken into the hands of the Psi Authority. Untrained, unregulated telepaths are too dangerous to be left to themselves. You've already seen that first hand. You're power is limited right now, but one day it will grow beyond your control and become destructive. That is why I brought you here."  
  
"What are they gonna do to me?"  
  
"I don't know." He honestly didn't. Psi Authority was a separate government branch with little oversight. It was well known, however, that it was best to stay out of its business.  
  
Eve sighed again. "Yeah, well, I guess it's better than staying here. Not like I had much of a life to begin with." The young blonde girl looked back out on the descending night sky, shivered, and crossed her arms. She was really quite beautiful, standing there against the backdrop of nightfall, her hair gently being tossed about by the strong breeze. No, not quite beautiful. She was picturesque.  
  
Jake headed to the interior of the Lookout, thinking about the one beautiful woman he did know. The woman he loved. 


	6. Chapter 6

Earth, Sol System 11.2.43 2014 Hours  
  
Another two hours passed, and eventually all of the warriors returned, families and belongings in tow. Krillin and Yamcha had only a duffle bag each, and Tien had nothing. Bulma apparently packed everything into a half dozen capsules kept on her belt, but Chi-Chi had gone overboard, packing over a dozen suitcases filled with everything from clothes to Gohan's school work. Goku was laden like a pack-mule when he arrived. He put all of the luggage into a haphazard pile, and when everyone was accounted for, approached Sabre, who was waiting in the middle of the courtyard.  
  
"It looks like we're all ready to go. Uh, I hope we didn't bring to much luggage," Goku said, scratching the back of his head. "Chi-Chi went a little nuts. She was worried about not having enough stuff for me and Gohan."  
  
"It won't be a problem." Sabre looked over at the rest of the group. "What about the others, are they ready?"  
  
"I guess so. We're all a little nervous, and a little unsure about all this. But, you asked for our help."  
  
"Understandable. And yes I did. I thank you for doing this." Goku believed the genuine look in his eyes. Sabre spoke into a comm unit embedded on a band on his wrist.  
  
"Charlie Four Ninteen, we are ready for departure at my coordinates."  
  
"Roger sir," came the slightly distorted reply.  
  
They heard it before they saw it. It sounded like a distant, rolling thunder that grew louder each passing moment. The Lookout began to shake, subtly at first, then violently as the spacecraft broke through the nighttime cloud cover. The warriors were awed by what they saw; they had never seen a ship so large.  
  
As all wartime Coalition ships were, it was a gunmetal grey, bearing only the Galactic Coalition insignia and its name, the GCS Dante, in white, bold block letters. Its engine wash threatened to blow away their luggage, and they had to use their bodies to shield it. But they too were in danger of being blown away. The transport pulled up along side, its pentagonal superstructure, dwarfing the lookout. The vessel cut off its massive fusion engines and switched to anti-gravity drives. This was fortunate, because the Lookout had started to buckle. Now the deafening roar was replaced with a dull hum, and communication once again became possible.  
  
Sabre approached the awestruck group and addressed them.  
  
"Alright people, this is it. Once you go on board that ship, there is no turning back. Any objections?" But they all knew it was too late to turn back. Where Son Goku went, they would always follow, though each for their own reasons.  
  
"No? Good." A few moments later, the ship positioned itself parallel to the lookout and extended a ramp from a single open airlock. Sabre made his way up to the ramp, turned and motioned a "Follow me."  
  
Eve went first, followed by Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin. 18 was close behind. Goku, carrying nine of the twelve enormous suitcases, led his family on board, with Trunks, Bulma, and Vegeta not far behind. Piccolo took up the rear and gave one final look to Dende—who nodded his head—then proceed up the ramp.  
  
The airlock hatch lead to a cavernous cargo bay, with a sealed door on the far end. Goku nearly had to crawl on his knees to fit through the entryway, the luggage not in his arms balanced precariously on his back. The bay was relatively empty, with only a few nondescript containers and barrels piled here and there. When everyone was aboard, the airlock cycled shut.  
  
The transport pulled away from the Lookout and began its ascent. After a few moments, it shut down its AG drives and reactivated its main engines. The Lookout was rocked with another blast as the ship shot off into space at an incredible speed, its massive, grey pentagonal frame fading to a point of light in the distance. Thanks to inertial dampening, no one could feel the ships increasing acceleration.  
  
Sabre addressed his new passengers, most of whom waited together in a group, with Vegeta and Eve standing alone and separate, looking surly and disinterested, respectively. "Alright, first off, we're going to get you to your rooms and squared away. She's a big, empty ship, so it will be easy to get lost. Follow me."  
  
Sabre led the group of curious warriors through the cargo bay exit, then down a series of dimly lit, bare corridors, stopping at a cargo lift. He pressed a button, and moments later the doors opened with a quiet whirr. There was just enough space for all of them to squeeze in, and once they had, Sabre punched a few strange-looking characters on a panel next to the door. At first they felt the usual lifting sensation, but that soon slowed and was replaced with a slight jerk and a feeling of horizontal motion. The lift system on board the ship consisted of vertical and horizontal tubes that crisscrossed in a grid throughout the superstructure. Soon the lift came to a stop, and Sabre led the group out into a more pleasant, well- lit corridor, which they assumed would be their quarters.  
  
The soldier addressed the docile herd. "All of these rooms are empty. The ship is running with a skeleton crew, whose quarters are on the next floor up. The rooms can accommodate four people each. Arrange yourselves however you see fit. There is a communal bathroom down the hall and to your left."  
  
Bulma was surprised. "A communal bathroom?"  
  
"Women were integrated into GCS service over a hundred and fifty years ago. It's worked fine for us, and it will work for you." Sabre didn't feel the need to argue the point any further and continued with his canned tour guide speech.  
  
"In each of the rooms there is a ship directory that can provide you with a map to get around the ship. I would recommend sticking together so you don't get lost, but I have a feeling that some of you—"—he shot a look at Goku— "—will disregard my advice. Now, I have some business to attend to. Tomorrow at 0600 hours we will begin the preliminary training tests. If you need to contact me, just ask the ship to track me down. Are there any questions?" There were none. Sabre nodded and returned to the lift.  
  
The somewhat bewildered passengers bunked with who they were most comfortable with. Goku and his family took one room, Bulma and Trunks another. The humans roomed together near the restroom, but Vegeta, Piccolo, and Eve each took their own cabins, far away from everyone else. Chi-Chi was distressed by the lack of accommodations, but she made the best with what she had. Which was a lot.  
  
Then the wandering began. The three humans left first, each taking a datapad programmed with the ships layout. Goku left Gohan to study, at Chi- Chi's insistence, and decided to take a stroll. He had originally intended to make his way to the galley, but had forgotten to take a datapad, and ended hopelessly lost in one of the engineering sections. He eventually used his instant transmission to get back to his room.  
  
Vegeta, angry because Bulma would be around for the entire journey, and once again infuriated by his own relative weakness, found an ancillary training room to work off some steam. It was disconcerting to have his strength challenged by another stranger. He could deal with having Kakkarot as a rival. By now he was used to it, and as infuriating as it could be, the challenge was at least honorable, and more importantly, Saiyan. But having Cell, then Gohan, and now this human surpass his strength was completely intolerable. Unable to work any controls other than the lights, he trained at full power as a Super Saiyan to try and achieve the level of control Kakkarot had in that form.  
  
The Saiyan Prince decided to train with the lights off, the only illumination coming from his bright golden aura. At first, he only practiced combat and speed drills, but he quickly grew bored, and decided to see what this ship was made of. He fired a small ki blast into the wall, expecting to tear a gaping hole, but instead, it simply was absorbed, the energy causing some sort of under wiring beneath the panel to glow a faint yellow. Surprised, he began to launch of series of larger and more powerful blasts into the wall, each as easily absorbed and dissipated as the next, with the dissipation occurring over a larger area as the energy level increased.  
  
Vegeta paused for a moment to gather his energy. "We'll see if this little trick can't be overloaded," he thought smugly. He leapt into then air and quickly extended his arms outward, his bulging muscles filling with power. The air crackled with latent energy around his body, golden tendrils flowing about his enlarged frame. As he brought his extended arms together, he roared, "Final Flash!" sending his most powerful energy attack directly into the wall. The entire room lit up, glowed brightly, and then faded back to black. There wasn't a mark on the wall. Spent for the moment, he dropped to the floor, and wondered to himself exactly what he had gotten into. Cell in his perfect form had been crippled by that blast, even though he regenerated. Whatever technology this Coalition had, it was far more advanced than anything he had come across on Vegeta or Earth. The Saiyan prince gritted his teeth and went back to training. It would be another tough fight.  
  
Twelve decks above, Chi-Chi and Bulma were listening to Trunks' tales of future that would never come to pass. While Bulma had been packing, he traveled back to his own time to take care of the Androids there. It only took him a matter of minutes to find and destroy the brother and sister duo that had ruined his world, thanks to the modified scouter the Bulma of the future provided him with. He could clearly remember the look in their eyes, filled with shock and hatred, but the victory did not bring him the catharsis he was expecting. A lifetime of suffering and fear could not be so easily erased. He did, however, take comfort knowing his mother would be safe in his continued absence. She understood why he had to go, if he could protect another world from destruction, then his absence would be worth it.  
  
"We didn't have much, but, my mother managed always had enough for us, and something to spare for whoever needed it," the purple-haired half-Saiyan recounted. "Just before Gohan died, she threw me a surprise birthday party, cake and all. I didn't even remember that it was my birthday. But she did. My mother always knew what to do." His eyes fell on Bulma for a brief moment, then he quickly looked away. He always got a strange feeling looking at this younger version of his mother. She was so much different than the Bulma that raised him.  
  
"Well," the green-haired woman said smugly, "at least we know I turn out to be a capable mother. Oh," she sighed, "I wish I could have taken baby Trunks with us. I miss him already."  
  
"No, Bulma, you did the right thing," Chi-Chi reassured her, "where we're going is no place for an infant. I don't even know if it's the right place for me, but I wasn't going to just sit in an empty home while my husband and son gallivanted out in space." She put her arm around Bulma. "I know honey, but it'll be okay. Your parents will do a good job with baby Trunks. Look what they did with you."  
  
"Yeah, I know. But he's still my baby. I'm going to have to find something to do around here to keep my mind off it."  
  
"I know what you mean, Bul-, er, Mom," Trunks almost fumbled, but quickly recovered.  
  
"Well Trunks, there is that girl on board she looks like she's your age. She's kind of cute, right?" Chi-Chi offered.  
  
"Well, I guess, bu-" Before he could finish, Goku's wife was practically pushing him out the door. "Go and talk to the poor girl, she's all alone! It'll be good for you!"  
  
The boy from the future didn't have much choice. He found Eve's door and knocked on it.  
  
There was no response. He tried again.  
  
Still nothing. "No point in bothering her," he thought and turned around. Just then, the door hissed open.  
  
"What?"  
  
Trunks was startled. "Uh, hi. I'm Trunks."  
  
The blonde girl rubbed her temples, then looked him up and down. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Uh, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk."  
  
"About what?"  
  
This girl was clearly not looking for company. "Well, uh, I don't know your name."  
  
"My name's Eve." Trunks felt a strange sensation for a moment, but it soon passed. Eve's features softened. "Do you want to come in?"  
  
"Okay, if you want," the purple-haired teen said sheepishly.  
  
Eve turned and cocked her head, signaling him to enter. She closed the door behind him after fumbling with the control panel.  
  
Trunks searched for something to breach the silence. "So...how are you doing?"  
  
Eve rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm a little freaked out right now, being with a bunch of supermen and all. Plus I'm on a spaceship. Leaving the solar system. With strangers."  
  
"Oh, yeah, I guess that is kinda weird. But, we're not all that strange," Trunks said earnestly.  
  
"What about that green guy with the antennas? Or that guy with a third eye? Or the fact that suddenly people can fly? Or-" Trunks held up his hands.  
  
"Okay, yeah...I guess for you it is strange. But, we're not all that different, really. I mean, aside from our abilities and stuff."  
  
"Oh really? I bet you're life hasn't been a living hell since day one." "Actually..."  
  
Eve was incensed. "Actually what? You think you had a tough life? You all around here look like you've been livin' it up, flying all around and shit, doing whatever the hell you want. No one I know can afford Capsules, either."  
  
Trunks stood up straight, a hint of anger creeping into his voice. "I don't think it's fair for you to be making judgments like that." The feeling he felt before returned to his mind, lingered a little longer this time, then receded.  
  
The blonde girl's voice softened. "I'm sorry. You're right. I don't even know you. This is just all so stressful," she began to rub her temples and sat down on a bed. "I shouldn't be lashing out at everyone."  
  
Trunks was glad she was cooling down. He didn't want to get into a fight with someone he just met, yet alone someone who he'd be unavoidably close to for the next few weeks.  
  
"So, where did you grow up?" Eve asked neutrally.  
  
"West City."  
  
"Isn't that where Capsule Corps headquarters is?"  
  
He thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess here it is." In his time, the Capsule Corps in West City had fallen shortly after his birth. The others weren't far behind.  
  
"What do you mean 'here'?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, nothing."  
  
Eve could sense he was hiding something. "Oh, come on. What is it?"  
  
"No, really, it doesn't matter." He could feel it again. This time it was more forceful, it felt like it something was putting pressure on his head. He cringed.  
  
"What's the matter?" Eve asked, getting up from the bed.  
  
"I, I don't know, it feels like a headache, but," he paused as the sensation receded, "I think it's gone now."  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Here, have some water. At least I think it's water. Never can tell on a spaceship, right?" Eve said, grabbing a plastic cup off the nearby table and going to a dispensary on the wall. She placed it underneath the tap and it filled automatically, stopping when it was nearly full.  
  
Trunks thanked her, took the cup, and sipped. "Yeah, I guess it is water."  
  
"So, what is everyone's deal around here? Who's who? If I'm gonna be around, I might as well know who I'm living with."  
  
Trunks noticed her change in attitude, and made a mental note of it. "Well, I guess I'll start with the most obvious. You know the big green guy? He's a Namek. His name's Piccolo."  
  
"Like the instrument?"  
  
"Yeah. But don't remind him of that. Then the guy with the three eyes is Tienshinhan. We just call him Tien for short. He's human, but, no one really knows why he has that third eye. I think it has something to do with enlightenment. The tiny guy is named Krillin. He and Goku were childhood friends. Goku is the guy with the spiky black hair and is sort of the de facto leader here. He's also a Saiyan. His son is Gohan, and his wife is Chi-Chi. Yamcha is the guy with a scar on his face."  
  
"What about the woman you're staying with?"  
  
"Oh." Trunks paused for a moment, but then realized he wouldn't be revealing anything to surprising to her if he told her the truth. "Well, she's my mom. And the other man, kinda short with tall hair, is my dad, a Saiyan as well."  
  
"Why doesn't he stay with you too? And what's a Saiyan?"  
  
"It's sorta complicated. My dad isn't very...open with his emotions. He mainly scowls and yells a lot. He and my mom don't get along too well, and me and him aren't too close; he came back into my life just recently." Actually, Trunks really came into his via time machine, but she didn't need to know that. "As to what Saiyans are, all I really know is what my mom told me." He then told her all about Frieza and the Saiyan's roles as henchmen, of Goku coming to Earth and being found by Gohan, and of his father's eventual arrival on Earth.  
  
"Okay, I think I can remember that. So you're half Saiyan?"  
  
"Yeah," Trunks said.  
  
"No tail?"  
  
He shook his head. "No, no tail."  
  
"Huh." Eve paused for a moment, soaking it all in. "What about the blonde chick?"  
  
"Excuse me?  
  
"Overalls and striped shirt. Big, blue eyes."  
  
"Oh." His voice dropped. She was referring to the android. Even though she clearly wasn't like the one he knew from his time, his mind had a hard time distinguishing between the two. It was hard to stop hating an enemy you've known all your life. "That's Android 18. 18 for short."  
  
"Android? Like a robot?"  
  
"Yeah, a very complex robot, built to look, sound, smell, feel, and act like a human."  
  
"Huh. That explains why her hair is so damn perfect."  
  
"Yeah, I guess."  
  
"What, you don't think she's pretty?"  
  
"Uh, I'd rather not talk about it."  
  
Eve stared at him intently, but said nothing. "Alright, fair enough."  
  
She looked as if she expected him to say something. All he came up with was, "So..."  
  
"Let's go for a walk. I don't want to spend all day in here. Come on," she grabbed his hand before he had a chance to object and led him out the door.  
  
"Shouldn't we get one of those maps or-?"  
  
"Nah. I'm a city girl. Keen sense of direction and all that shit."  
  
And so the two ambled about aimlessly through the empty decks of the spacecraft. Eve grew strangely animated, in contrast with her recalcitrant demeanor before. She seemed to genuinely enjoy exploring this whole new world that had been opened to her. Trunks did his best to keep her from touching too many things or getting into what were clearly restricted areas. Eventually then ended up on the bridge, at which point he had to cover her mouth to prevent her from saying something obnoxious and distracting the obviously preoccupied bridge attendants, Sabre among them. They ran into Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin early in their wandering, but didn't see anyone else for another few hours. The few crew members they saw ignored them. Trunks and Eve spent the rest of the night on the observation deck, chatting and gazing into the stars above.  
  
Back in his room, alone, with the lights dimmed to almost nothing, Piccolo meditated. In his meditation he reflected on recent events, mostly on the recent battle with Cell. There was much to study and learn about that encounter. The Sayians learned instinctively during each battle. Nameks, however, improved their combat skills both through practice and meditation. He needed to get stronger. His fusion with Kami greatly increased his strength, but he could feel there was more unlocked potential within himself. He had tried desperately to find it before the fight with Cell, but it had eluded him. He began his efforts anew. The Namek could feel he and his friends were inevitably moving towards a great darkness. They would need all the strength they could muster. Piccolo refocused his thoughts and sank back into the inner sanctum of his mind. 


	7. Chapter 7

4  
  
Earth, Sol System  
  
11.2.43  
  
1485 Hours  
  
Sabre was glad to be home, at least, what he told himself was home. His mind was troubled over the assassin that had followed him here, but after a while his thoughts began to drift to other things. He had always heard stories about the Earth, and was anxious to actually go there, but circumstances had never allowed it. Finally, it was the Necron war had brought him here, to the cradle of his species.  
  
Statistically speaking, Earth wasn't very impressive. It was rather small, with low gravity, only had about six billion relatively weak people that had made only modest technological progress. Since Earthlings had yet to explore any meaningful area of space, it had been left alone, isolated in its uneventful corner of space.  
  
Fighting strength was the standard of comparison used by most races in the Coalition. The ancient race that took his ancestors from here saw a great potential in the humans where no one else did—not even the humans themselves. They were never given second thought. The physically weak, short-lived, and small humans were generally regarded with contempt among the other races being the weakest of the lot. Sabre was the first to break that stereotype.  
  
He had trained himself the best he could, but was always one step behind, physically at least, at the Academy. He was definitely very smart, excelling in the academics offered, but that meant little at an institution renowned for breeding the fiercest, strongest fighters. It was impossible for him to keep up with the Sayjins and the Thrakans. Once the Sayjins went SSJ and the Thrakans Hyperdyned, he didn't stand a chance. As he shot through the air, he thought back to the day that all changed...  
  
Polaris, Aphea System  
  
03.16.34  
  
1522 Hours  
  
Resa easily dodged his kick and struck him in the chest, sending him back a few yards. He became angered that this small Sayjin girl could beat him so easily if she wanted to, and was holding back so as not to accidentally kill him. He had nothing against her, but it was his own inferiority that drove him mad. He threw a punch directly at her face, which she deflected before returning the favor. He barely had time to react and took the blow full on. Blood ran from the side of his lip and his face contorted with anger. He powered up again and launched a flurry of ki blasts at her, all of which she dodged with a smile.  
  
"Missed me!" she mocked.  
  
He then charged at her, sending a roundhouse at her head. She grabbed his foot and flipped him so he faced the ground, then drove her elbow into the small of his back. He impacted the floor with a dull thud, and Resa followed him. She helped him up gently and walked him over to the nearby rest area. All around others were training in the Academy arena, bright flashes of gold and red and green where the Thrakans and Sayjins and a few Nameks were fighting.  
  
"Jake, I told you I don't like to fight you when I'm a Super Sayjin, it's hard for me to hold back enough to not hurt you like that."  
  
"Don't worry about it," he said. He then tried to laugh, but that just sent jolts of stabbing pain all through out his body. "I know what I'm getting into. Don't be sorry. I'm tired of everyone being sorry for me."  
  
Resa was actually one of the stronger Sayjins who held back her training in order to help him. When not transformed she had short, jet black hair, and was flat-out beautiful. She the most stunning green eyes he'd ever seen and a smile to match. She was just a hair shorter than he, and had a nicely toned body. Right now her muscles were bulging, filled with the power that Super Sayjins naturally possess, and he longed for that power. Not because he wanted to abuse it or flaunt it to show how tough he was, but so he could actually be of some use to the universe. He wanted to be the best so he could be the protector, not the protected. She handed him a pill, which he promptly swallowed. His wounds immediately healed.  
  
"Do you want to go again?" she asked.  
  
"No, I'm just holding you back, go and train. I'll be alright."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, just go." He waved her off. He was in no mood to take another ego pounding, though he'd been doing so for years.  
  
"Okay," she sighed. She knew not to press him, because it just made him sadder. She squeezed his shoulder then turned and flew off to join the massive melee going on around him. It was their third year in the Academy, Jake was 16, as was she. They loved each other, but they would not admit to themselves it was anything more than the kind of love forged from years of friendship. Time would prove otherwise, however. They had grown up together, and when they were not sparring they would be found in the parks and movie theaters just hanging out. They had entered the Academy together, roughly at the same level, but she rapidly progressed faster than he did, and once she went SSJ, he was left in the dust.  
  
He left the arena in order to go think. He had been doing a lot of that lately. He knew there had to be some way to get stronger, but he had reached a plateau and could not ascend any higher. He peaked at a power level of about 17,000,000 whereas Resa and the other Sayains and the Thrakans were at around 28,000,000 and rising. He knew the Sayjins ascended through emotions such as rage and pain, whereas the Thrakans ascended through meditation.  
  
The Thrakans were definitely an interesting race. On average, they were about six feet tall, and had a light red tint in their skin. This tint turned bright red when they hyperdyned, the equivalent of going SSJ. Their eyes glowed an eerie red as well. They resembled humans and Sayjins, but like the Nameks they had different color striations on their muscles. Socially, they were quite reserved and tended to be aloof.  
  
Then there were the humans. In the Coalition, they numbered the fewest next to the Nameks, only about one and a half of the more than fifty billion who were part of it. There were about five billion Sayjins, but the Thrakans were the majority by far, accounting for nearly twenty-five billion. The rest comprised of other races, but the Thrakans and Sayjins and a handful of Nameks were the only true warriors in the Coalition. He had tried to change that stereotype by entering the Academy, but so far it wasn't working out.  
  
Jake flew down to the nearby beach and began to walk its enormous coastline. He was the only one there, since everyone was either training or working on the space dock in orbit. The planet the Academy was located on was called Polaris, and the only items of interest on or around the planet were the Academy and Space Dock Sierra in high orbit.  
  
The Academy consisted of a cluster of administrative and academic buildings, at the center of which was a large, geodesic dome known as the Arena. There all the physical training took place. The planet had no residents save for the trainees and instructors, so there would be no distractions for the trainees. This left the rest of the planet devoid of inhabitants and technology, preserving its natural beauty.  
  
He would often walk the coastline in order to think, mainly about getting stronger and of Earth. His parents talked of it as if they had lived there, when in actuality no one directly related to him had seen the planet in over sixty thousand years. He wondered what it was like, and if his fellow man had discovered the secret to unlock the potential he knew that humans had to possess. If all the other races had the ability to ascend to much higher levels, surely the humans could as well. But if they had, they were certainly hiding it, as it would have drawn the attention of the Coalition High Command. Contact with underdeveloped planets was strictly forbidden, mainly to prevent the Coalition from entangling itself in foreign affairs. Interference in the development of lesser civilizations was only a secondary concern. A bout of isolationist sentiment had dominated the sentiments of Coalition leaders for the past five generations, since the Mandreen wars. All he knew of Earth he learned from myths, legends, and the few non-classified vids and documents pertaining to the planet.  
  
Night was falling and he wondered how Resa was doing. Technically, Jake was only there for the academic courses, advanced tactics, battle theory, biology, and the like, so he had no obligation to train. This entire week was a break until next semester began, so he could basically do as he pleased. The stars began to shine, and his thoughts drifted away from training and the academy. He focused on the twinkling dots of light and became fascinated with them, as he did every night. The subtle sound of the ocean breaking on the shore lulled him into a pleasant tranquility. He knew that actually most of the stars were dead, and their light was just reaching the planet, but he didn't care, it didn't detract from their beauty.  
  
Some time later Resa found him on the beach as she always did, he was half- asleep, gazing into the heavens above. She felt so sorry for him, always training, pushing himself, but it was evident he was getting nowhere. She knew he didn't want anyone feeling sorry for him in the least, but her feelings for him couldn't be helped.  
  
"Hey there stranger." she said, "You didn't come back, so I'd figure I'd find you here."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You should've seen Vicha today, he was trying to perfect one of his crazy attacks when it accidentally went off and hit Coach Vela. Boy was he pissed."  
  
"Vicha, oh he's a card alright. What'd Coach do?"  
  
"He smacked him around a bit then put him on kitchen duty for a month."  
  
"Oooh, that's harsh."  
  
The conversation ended there and Resa sat beside him, her hair blowing softly in the wind. He looked into her eyes and saw the very stars that were in the sky.  
  
"Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?" he asked with a wry smile.  
  
"Yeah, you, only about 10,000 times."  
  
"Well, this makes it 10,001."  
  
He turned his attention back to the sky and wondered if he would ever be as great as he wanted to be.  
  
"I know what you're thinking."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"You still wanna get stronger, don't you?"  
  
"That obvious, huh? It's only been bothering me for a few years. I'm surprised it shows." His bitterness was evident.  
  
"Jake, I wish I could help you, I really do. To see you trying so hard, it, it just kills me."  
  
"Look," he returned his eyes to hers, "I know you want to help, but I'm just not strong enough yet. I think I'm beginning to realize that I may just grasping at straws. It's not gonna happen."  
  
"Oh, don't say that!" she chided, "Everyone respects and admires you for what you're doing, you've pushed us all to go further than we thought we could, because you did yourself. Just because you aren't as strong as the rest of us doesn't make you any less great."  
  
He stood up angrily. "Don't give me that shit. I'm not a child. No one here needs me, or even wants me. You would have gotten as strong as you are even if I wasn't here. Have you noticed that you're the only one who even talks to me? No one even knows I exist." He then turned back to the ocean and glowered.  
  
Resa was unwaveringly sympathetic. "I don't believe that. Just because everyone is too proud to get to know you, it doesn't mean they don't notice you. They'd never admit it, but everyone in that building admires you to some degree. In your heart, you are the strongest fighter I've ever known, It's what's in your heart that counts. Isn't that what they have been drilling into us?"  
  
"That's the problem. Only in my heart am I a great fighter. And that doesn't land punches. It isn't worth a damn for someone like me." With that, Jake turned and headed back down the coastline.  
  
12.28.34  
  
2300 Hours  
  
Polaris, Aphea System  
  
The months came and went, and his attempts to become stronger were still in vain. Resa and the others we growing in power in leaps and bounds, but his own power was not enough to challenge even the weakest of the trainees. Jake no longer trained in the Academy, for it had become obvious that pushing himself physically was useless. He focused instead on mental exercises and deep meditation—always been part of the Academy curriculum, but which he now attempted to take much further in his private sessions.  
  
Jake had not dropped combat training altogether, however, and he spent time perfecting his current techniques and attacks, even devising a few new ones. One of them allowed him to go from normal to full power in a fraction of a second, a trick that he had thought would be useful when he realized that a person burned off a lot of energy in the simple act of powering up.  
  
This particular evening, he was on the far side of the planet so his power fluctuations would not be detected. He wanted no distractions while engaged in his mentally intense exercises. He was floating and meditating, trying to figure out why he could not ascend, why there was some sort of block within him. Every other race had an inherent, untapped power, why not humans? It had to be there, it was just waiting for the right trigger. If not from within, then from without? The thought intrigued him. It felt right. Something was there now, dancing about at the edge of his conscious mind, was it the answer? The more he tried to focus on it, the vaguer it became. This went on for hours until he decided to let it go. Jake took a deep breath and emptied his mind. The clear, cold night was a familiar sensation.  
  
He was lost in a trance when a scream in his mind shook him to the core. Something was there. Not on the planet, but in his mind. It had no form, but he could see its eyes, the red glowing eyes. Not the proud red of the Thrakans, but a blood, dull-red— the red that signified unmistakably a deep, pure evil. Jake suddenly felt as if his entire body was in the hand of a giant, squeezing him so tight that he could hardly breathe. The terror was such that he had never felt, and yet...the experience was not altogether new. It reminded him of the mind probe he had to endure before being accepted into the Academy, without the paralyzing fear. So, that meant it was being projected to him telepathically. The logic did little to ease the shrieking in his mind.  
  
It smiled at him, the eyes, the being, whatever it was. It showed him pictures of powerful people, the people he wanted to be, of myth and legend, of heroes dead and alive. It knew what he wanted. The creature then killed them one by one, burning them, torturing them all. The last image was that of Resa. She was sleeping in her bed at the academy. Was it tonight? It could have been any night. The formless creature appeared above her, setting her aflame in her sleep, burning her alive. He could see her features being melted away...Jake tried to avert his eyes but couldn't, trapped in a nightmare he could not escape. His mind was reacting to a primordial terror, something his subconscious was remembering from ages long ago.  
  
His terror turned to anger, anger to a burning hatred. Then it stopped. The rage within him was replaced with an understanding. This was it. This was the trigger. The presence receded from his mind. Jake suddenly felt as if he was then watching himself floating above the ocean. He was standing straight up, arms pulled back at his sides. The feeling soon passed and he was back in his body; he opened his eyes. Now he felt the power he had been looking for. It surged through him, penetrating the very fabric of his being, enveloping him in a blazing white aura. His hair changed to a gray, then to a brilliant white; his eyebrows followed suit. His eyes disappeared and his eye sockets were filled with pure white energy. He was blinded, but at the same time everything seemed so clear and vivid. He felt his body begin to change. Bolts of blue electricity shot off all about him, his fists, clenched, were coursing with electricity of their own. He let out a roar so powerful that the shockwave separated the ocean below him and shattered rocks miles away. He felt the ocean rain back down on him as the final transformation took place. His muscles doubled in size, filling with a power not seen on this side of the galaxy in a great while. Electricity ran all over his body, augmenting his new, formidable appearance.  
  
Before, his body was reacting naturally to the power influx disconnecting his central nervous system from his higher brain functions so as to not overload it. Now he was back in control. He realized this was the power that had been hidden from him. He had no trouble with control; it was as if it had always been a part of him. He flew back to the coast in a blur, flying so fast that the air in front of him was destroyed and formed a vacuum. An earsplitting boom sounded his arrival back at The Academy.  
  
He stood gazing at the arena, now feeling that he would finally be able walk in there proud, unashamed of his humanity. But, was this what he really wanted? He was almost sure. Almost. But what purpose did he have? Power without a purpose was inherently destructive. His mind became awash with waves of self-doubt and worry. When he stopped, he realized he had not powered down, and wondered that if he did, would he be able to power up again? That was a stupid question. Of course he could. With a simple thought his new found power vanished. Just as easily, it returned when he willed it to.  
  
He then noticed that no one had come to check out the sudden power spike his transformation had surely caused. It must have not been that great of a leap after all, he thought. Or, perhaps this power was of a different nature, not readily detectable or sensible. He supposed would find out in due time. Soon his thoughts turned to the presence he felt. What it was, he couldn't say. If and when it was time to tell someone, he wasn't sure what he would say. There were only two impressions he took back from the incident. That it was pure evil, and that it was coming.  
  
Jake made his way back to his room and slept a troubled sleep. His subconscious mind milled over memories and information he did not know he possessed. From that night on, his life would never be the same. 


	8. Chapter 8

12  
  
Earth, Sol System  
  
11.2.43  
  
0555 Hours  
  
"Damn it boy, what are you still doing in bed?!" Vegeta roared.  
  
Trunks snapped awake, momentarily disoriented.  
  
"Wipe that stupid look off your face! Kakkarot and his spawn are already on their way to the training room." The only reason Vegeta wanted Trunks there was so his own son wouldn't look like a slacker compared to that of his arch-rival's.  
  
The purple-haired demi-Saiyan hopped out of his bunk and landed gracefully on the floor. He quickly donned his blue under-suit and Saiyan chest armor, almost tripping out the door to keep up with his infuriated father, who was storming towards the lift.  
  
"Where's everyone else?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Probably already there," Vegeta snapped.  
  
The teen said nothing. His father was more surly than usual and it was best to stay out of his way. His head ached a little, but he shook it off. He was wondering why he was so tired until he remembered that he had been out until the early morning with Eve. She was like no one else he had ever met...so carefree one moment, then cold and hard-bitten the next. She sure was cute though...Trunks perished the thought. There was no time for that now. His mind would once again have to focus on training.  
  
The Saiyan Prince and his son actually made it to the training room ahead of Goku and Gohan, who along with Chi-Chi ended up on the wrong side of the ship. Once again, he used his instant transmission to get where he needed to be. Piccolo and the others were all gathered there, with the exception of Eve, who no one seemed to notice was absent. Sabre entered last, through a door that blended seamlessly with the wall.  
  
"Alright. I'm glad everyone is here on time. Take a look around you." Sabre gestured a sweeping motion with his arm.  
  
All of the walls were lined with solid white paneling, as was the floor. At various points on the ceiling, floor, and walls were tiny, shielded cameras, which connected to a control room where the action inside could be safely viewed. At certain points in the chamber were what looked to be hatches from which various devices could enter. While not as intimidating as the time chamber in the Lookout, the room seemed pretty formidable.  
  
Sabre gave them an overview of what the room was capable of.  
  
"Due to the fact that we're onboard a ship, this room can only supply up to 750 times Earth gravity." Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien began to look doubtful. "Any more than that would implode the ship. Temperatures can be raised up to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit or lowered to 1200 below zero. I would suggest that you do not power down in those extreme temperatures, unless you want to burst into flames or freeze solid." The humans looked sick. "The walls are layered with energy dissipating crosshatching, so don't worry about stray blasts. You do have to worry about cracking them with stray blows, though. This room is equipped with automated weapons identical to the ones you'll come into contact with while we are in battle. The Saiyans will go up against them first so I can gauge their strengths."  
  
"What do we do during all this?" Bulma asked.  
  
"You, Chi-Chi and the rest can watch the action from the control room." "Shall we begin now?"  
  
"Yes, please, could we?" Vegeta asked sarcastically.  
  
Sabre ignored his comment. "To get to the control room, go through the door I came out and climb up the ladder at the end of the corridor."  
  
The non-participants made their way out, the door integrating itself seamlessly back into the wall. Upon entering the control room, the group was directed to a large viewing console that had a primary video feed into the training room. The control room itself was operated by two crew members, both seated at a large workstation displaying multiple video feeds and digital readouts.  
  
Back in the chamber, Sabre directed the action. "Okay, all of you line up, arm's length apart."  
  
The Saiyajin's did as they were told, each wondering what was going to happen next.  
  
"Now, I want to watch each of you power up to you max as fast as you can. Trunks, you go first."  
  
The half-Saiyajin nodded his head and got into position. He pulled his arms into his sides, looked down, and began to focus his energy. The air around him began to become distorted with the heat from his energy. His hair began to dance around his shoulders, then, in a burst of energy, flashed gold. Simultaneously, his eyes turned turquoise and his muscles inflated with power. His hair became spiked and stood out from his head like needles. His muscles continued to inflate until they were almost twice their normal size. When he finished he spoke.  
  
"This is as strong as I can get before I start to lose speed."  
  
"Alright, Vegeta, your turn."  
  
Normally, Vegeta would have made some cocky remark about what a true Saiyan's power looked like, but he said nothing now that Gohan had ascended to a new level.  
  
Vegeta took about half the time to power up, simply crossing his arms in the process. His normally small frame was pumped to its max, his jet black hair now the color of a super-Sayjin.  
  
"Happy now? I don't know what you are trying to prove."  
  
"You'll see. Goku, you're up."  
  
Goku put on his cocky smile. He crossed his arms in front of his head and powered up. Since he was already a super-Sayjin, the only noticeable differences were his muscle's slight increase in size. However, his ki skyrocketed, and Sabre felt that his power was a good bit greater than that of Trunks or Vegeta. They felt this too, but said nothing.  
  
"Alright kid, show me what you got."  
  
Gohan nodded his head and began his charge up. His stance was identical to that of Goku's. Sabre noted that even though this boy was extremely powerful, he was still only a child. He was still attached to his father, and looked up to him for guidance.  
  
The boy continued his power up, and soon blue streaks of electricity began to dance around him. Eventually, they began to crawl over his body as he ascended to SSJ2. Goku looked on at his son with pride, knowing that the power next to him was of his own blood. Trunks saw the look in Goku's eyes and wished his father could express the same sentiment. He didn't understand why he was so cold...  
  
Gohan finished charging and stood before the human with a smile on his face.  
  
"Not bad, kid. You guys as a group are pretty impressive. But, with the exception of Gohan, you're all still weaker than my former team. You still need a lot of work to reach my level. I'm not too worried, though; I know how much you Saiyans love a challenge."  
  
Vegeta, being blunt as usual, lashed out.  
  
"What do you know about us Saiyans? How can you pretend to even begin to understand our race?"  
  
Sabre glared at Vegeta. "I probably know more about your race than you do. I have grown up around Saiyans my entire life. And I'm used to your attitude. Now," he said, without slowing down, "what you'll be exposed to here is a full-scale live-fire exercise.  
  
"What?" Goku asked.  
  
"I want to see how you react to being shot at. Don't underestimate these weapons. They are like nothing you've ever encountered before." When he finished speaking he left the glowing Saiyans and proceeded to the control room. Once there, the operators pressed a series of buttons. The lights in the chamber dimmed and the sound of mechanical lifts and hydraulic pumps could be heard. Simultaneously, panels all over the wall pushed forward and slid to the side, revealing a variety of weapons.  
  
Back in the control room, the crewmen pressed a few more buttons and a warning claxon sounded, signaling that the weapons were armed and ready to fire. In front of the operator's control screens were wire frame representations of the four Saiyans in the chamber. On each of the screens were the vital signs of the combatants. Currently, all of the wire frames were green. A switch was toggled, sending the weapons into free-fire mode.  
  
Back in the chamber the four warriors looked around at the firepower aimed at them, each slipping into a fighting stance with only mild concern. Each piece of ordinance locked on to a target and began to fire. The room was filled with the metallic sound of weapons fire and illuminated with the flash of automatic guns.  
  
"Hah, what does this fool think he's doing? These pathetic weapons won't-" Vegeta's gloating was cut short when a cannon shell exploded behind him, sending shrapnel into his back and knocking him to his knees. Various energy weapons began tracking the fighters, spraying glowing balls of energy with deadly accuracy at their targets. Trunks was cut down by a volley from a heavy plasma machine gun, the bullets penetrating his ki shield and hitting him with such concussive force as to render him unconscious. A shot from a railgun put a four-inch hole through Vegeta's chest, just below his collar bone, causing him to flail about on the floor, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. Goku did his best to evade the maelstrom of fire but was hit anyway when an anti-matter grenade exploded directly in front of him, blinding him and shredding his face up pretty badly. His agonizing pain was cut short when a maser blast knocked him into merciful unconsciousness. Gohan simply stood still as the weapons deflected harmlessly off the energy shield he erected. When he saw his father go down he flew over to his aid. At the far end of the chamber, a beam cannon had finished its charge and locked on to the only remaining target.  
  
Back in the control room, everyone was shocked to see three of the Saiyans go down in a matter of seconds. Chi-Chi had already fainted, and even 18 was surprised at the viciousness of the action. All of the spectators focused on the last Super Saiyan. Gohan was kneeling over his father when he looked up to see a huge red beam barreling at him. He braced to block it, but was ripped off his feet when the blast impacted. He was engulfed in the energy wave and thrust into the wall with enough force to crack the reinforced tile. The beam continued firing, pinning Gohan to the wall. All of the weapons in the room now locked onto the immobilized Gohan and added their volleys to the blast. When the beam weapon's fire dissipated, it was replaced with the din of pulse, plasma, and recoilless rifles, heavy machine guns, plasma cannons, masers, railguns and anti-matter grenades.  
  
The guns in the chamber were linked up to the control room's scanners and ceased fire when Gohan's wire frame representation went red. There being no targets left, the weapons pulled back into their concealed positions. Sabre punched up a command on a keyboard and quickly moved to the chamber. He took stock of the fallen warriors and found them to be in pretty bad shape. Trunks had been knocked clean out. Vegeta was bleeding profusely from the hole in his chest, all the while cursing and writhing in agony. Goku had severe burns on his body from the maser beam, and his face was mangled to a pulp. His son's broken body was at the near end of the chamber. All had lost their golden auras. The room itself was hardly scratched; the reflective materials had worked perfectly. Only the cracked panel Gohan had hit was damaged.  
  
Sabre shook his head at the ease with which the Sayjins had gone down. "They may be excellent fighters, but they were never trained to take weapons seriously," he thought. He reached into his pocket and removed four pills from a container. He dispensed one to each of the Saiyans, returning them to full health. They regained consciousness immediately and stood up, shocked at what had just happened.  
  
"I told you. It's going to be dangerous. You have much training to do before I can put you in the field."  
  
"Gosh, I never thought that those things would be so strong." Gohan said, rubbing his head.  
  
"I'm surprised you held up as well as you did. These weapons were at full power, so it should not be too long before you learn how to effectively counter them. I used this as a demonstration to the others. You won't train with the systems at full power again for quite some time."  
  
"Guns are for cowards," Vegeta snarled as he got up from the ground.  
  
"That may be so, but then what does make you, being so easily beaten by them?"  
  
"I will not be talked down to by some mere human!" Vegeta roared. "I am the Prince of all Saiyans!"  
  
"No Vegeta, not all Saiyans. There hasn't been Saiyan royalty in the Tycho system for over seven hundred years."  
  
Vegeta was boiling with rage.  
  
Before he exploded again, Sabre said, "Look, you can vent all your anger on Goku in the sparring session, we're doing that next."  
  
Goku laughed. "Uh oh. I know how Vegeta gets when he's angry."  
  
"Shut up, Kakkarot! I'll crush you!" Vegeta stormed over to Goku, who held up his hands with a genial smile and backed away.  
  
Sabre came between them. "Not quite yet, Vegeta. Let's wait for the others." He turned to one of the cameras. "Send them on down."  
  
A few moments later, the rest of the warriors tentatively entered the training room, the humans glancing about nervously at the points where the weapons had retracted.  
  
Sabre noticed this. "Don't worry, they're off."  
  
"Great," Yamcha said nervously.  
  
"I know...this looks bad. But we wouldn't have selected you if we didn't think you could handle it. Any of you." Jake looked at Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien.  
  
"Now, this is going to be a free-form sparring session, only I don't want any one here to transform. The scientists back home have figured out whenever a species transforms, their base power is exponentially increased. Now, while training in this state does increase your power, training in your base forms is more efficient, up to a point, and yields better results. None of you are at that point yet. Therefore, we'll all be training more or less at the same level.  
  
Krillin spoke up and said, with false bravado, "Sounds good. When do we get to start?"  
  
Goku took note of Krillin's eagerness.  
  
"Now, if you all are ready. Everyone, grab a partner. I'll take the odd man out."  
  
Vegeta turned to his rival, poking his finger in the taller Sayiain's chest. "Kakkarot, you and I will fight!"  
  
"Sure Vegeta, whatever you want," Goku said with his usual cocky grin.  
  
"Uh, Piccolo, would you mind if we trained together?" Gohan asked timidly.  
  
"Sure kid, it'll be just like old times," the Namek replied. Gohan's face lit up.  
  
"Hey, Yamcha, you wanna give it a go?" Tien proposed.  
  
Yamcha was having serious doubts about the whole situation, but was in too far to back out now. "Yeah, I guess."  
  
"Uh, Krillin, I guess that leaves you and me," Trunks said. He didn't even consider Android 18. He wasn't sure if he would be able to hold back and not kill her during training. She just looked so much like the other one...  
  
Krillin looked almost depressed for a moment, but perked up. "Sure man, I've always wanted to see how I'd measure up to one of you guys!" he said, referring to the Saiyans.  
  
Sabre stared at 18, who stood singularly alone. The android stared back.  
  
The human sighed, "I guess that means you and I are together."  
  
18 wasn't sure what he meant by that. "Whatever."  
  
"Everyone, pick a spot and start up. I won't interfere with any of your training until later today. I just want to see what you all can do." With that, Sabre motioned to 18 to come over to him.  
  
He gave a thumbs-up sign to one of the cameras. In a few moments, the entire room was filled with a fast-paced synthesized beat which all found to be rather pleasant, if strange. Each pair took up various positions in the mammoth chamber, some in the air, and some on the ground. It made no difference, though; in time, they would be all over both. Everyone stretched first, knowing that was perhaps the most vital component of their warm-ups. A pulled muscle in the middle of an intense training session could lead to big problems.  
  
18 walked up to Sabre when he finished his stretching. "How do you want to do this?"  
  
"Do what you will. I'll keep up with you."  
  
"Fine," she said flatly.  
  
All around the room similar exchanges were occurring, albeit in a more friendly matter. Except, of course, for Vegeta.  
  
"You may be stronger than me as a Super Saiyan, but now we are equals. Oh, Kakkarot, how I will enjoy making you bleed!" Vegeta said maliciously.  
  
"Hey c'mon, let's try and keep this clean, okay?"  
  
"Ha! I will fight however I see fit, Kakkarot! Now defend yourself!" Vegeta flew at Goku. They soon disappeared in a blur of punches and kicks and the rest of the group took this as the signal to commence their sparring. The room became filled with the sounds of combat as punches, kicks, and ki blasts were heard being blocked and deflected. No one was foolish enough to start their training at full power, but as time wore on the ki blasts became bigger and the blows were striking harder.  
  
Krillin was quite pleased with himself because he was able to keep up with Trunks. The Saiyans had spent most of their time training as Super Saiyans, so their base power levels were comparable to the rest of the fighters.  
  
"Man," Krillin thought as he deflected Trunks's kick with his forearm, "this is just like old times. Well, almost like old times," as he remembered he was fighting with a boy from the future. Trunks managed to catch him off guard and landed a punch square into Krillin's gut. Krillin doubled over for a moment but quickly recovered and responded with a kick to Trunks's head.  
  
In Tien and Yamcha's sparring match, Tien clearly held the upper hand. He was taking the training just as seriously as ever. Yamcha had to spend all of his energy just trying to evade and block his opponent's blows.  
  
"Hey, man, would you tone it down a little?" Yamcha asked.  
  
"How about you turn it up," was Tien's terse reply as his uppercut sent Yamcha straight into the air.  
  
"Aw, man," Yamcha thought, "why did I have to go with Tien? I should have gone with Krillin..." his train of thought was lost when Tien's knee struck his head.  
  
Gohan was having an immense amount of fun while fighting with Piccolo, and Piccolo, while he would never admit it, was enjoying it as well. The two had developed a bond that was as close as Piccolo could ever come to love.  
  
"Hey Piccolo," Gohan yelled, "watch this!" Piccolo watched in amazement as Gohan placed two fingers on his head and smiled. "Makkankosappo!" ("Demon Hell Screw," or in the American, the Special Beam Cannon) his high pitched voice cried as the corkscrew beam shot from his fingers.  
  
Piccolo countered and destroyed the blast with one of his own, but was shocked that the boy had learned it at all. "Where did you learn to do that, kid?"  
  
"I learned it from you, Piccolo!" Gohan said excitedly. "When dad and I were training in the Room of Spirit and Time I'd figured I would try and learn it. It took me a while, but I got it down! What d'ya think?"  
  
"I think you shouldn't let your guard down," Piccolo said as he drove his elbow into Gohan's gut.  
  
Goku and Vegeta were the two who were going at it the hardest and had exchanged few words. Goku realized that Vegeta was as strong, if not stronger than him in their regular forms. And Vegeta was fully taking advantage of that fact.  
  
"Whoa Vegeta, what are you trying to do, kill me?" Goku asked as he narrowly avoided a blow to the back of the neck from his sparring partner.  
  
"Quit your whining, Kakkarot! If you can't handle training with me, why don't you go train with the cueball." Vegeta taunted.  
  
Krillin heard this and looked at Vegeta with an annoyance.  
  
"Go back to training with the boy," Vegeta commanded with a smug expression.  
  
Krillin mumbled something indistinctly as he returned to his match.  
  
"Hey Vegeta!" Goku cried as he shot towards him. Vegeta prepared to block but was left confused for a moment as Goku seemingly passed through him. Suddenly he came from above and landed a strong kick to the side of his head, sending the Saiyan prince tumbling to the ground.  
  
"See what happens when you get arrogant? Jeez Vegeta, I thought you would have learned by now," Goku said with a chuckle.  
  
Vegeta pulled himself off the floor and wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip. He looked at the third class Saiyan with his usual mixture of rage and respect. Wordlessly, they launched themselves at each other and continued their fight.  
  
Jake was keeping tabs on all the fighters as best he could. 18 wasn't making things easy for him, so he would occasionally lose track of them. He had come to realize that while this group had fought together numerous times in the past, they were hardly a unified team. Most of the humans harbored a resentment of their Saiyan friends and often underestimated their own abilities. Vegeta was a major source of tension in the group, as he was clearly not a team player. And Goku, their de facto leader, had the tendency of being much too merciful.  
  
"Well, I guess this is the best we can do," Jake thought to himself. The back of 18's fist nearly slammed into his face, forcing him to return to the matter at hand. The android was really a fascinating creation. It had taken the Coalition nearly two hundred years to perfect their own artificial intelligences, and a hundred more trying to give them decent corporeal forms, yet this Dr. Gero had managed to do it in the span of his own lifetime. If he had not known any better, he could have sworn she was human, and that in itself was surprising. Most of the Coalition's androids had distinct traits that could identify them as such, but this Android 18 might as well have been completely organic.  
  
She seemed to have genuine emotions, her own personality, her own will. He wondered if she even thought of herself as being any different from the others. He couldn't get a read off her.  
  
"So, 18, what do you think of this whole situation so far?" Jake asked while sending a flurry of blows at her.  
  
She deflected them and responded. "What I want to know is your real name."  
  
Jake wasn't expecting that. "My name?"  
  
"Yes, your real name. I was looking through the ship's database and it turns out your real name is classified."  
  
"What was she doing looking through the ships databanks?" he wondered. "Oh. She is an android, and she must have easily figured out how to interact with the Dante's own AI."  
  
"My name is none of your concern," he said as he parried a blow to his stomach.  
  
"Well, then, mystery man, you want to know how I feel about this whole situation? I'll tell you," she said with an increasingly hostile tone.  
  
"I was absorbed by that damn monster and thrown up when that boy defeated him. My friend 16 was destroyed and my brother was killed. Now, I am onboard a spaceship training with the very same people that are responsible for killing them to fight an enemy I didn't even know existed until today." As she spoke her attacks were becoming stronger and more accurate.  
  
"She's feeding off her anger," he realized. "I didn't think that was possible for androids." He decided to try something. As 18 continued her furious attack, Jake began to gather some energy for a ki blast. As she swung back to deliver a right hook, he discharged his attack directly into her face. Temporarily blinded and stunned, she faltered a bit in the air. Jake wasted no time and knocked her to the ground with an overhead smash. He followed her to the floor and landed a stomp on her wrist. Hard.  
  
After a sickening snap 18 screamed in agony. Jake lifted his foot in surprise as she rolled away and tucked her shattered hand under her other good arm. She got to her feet with a mixed look of pain and rage on her face.  
  
"What the HELL did you do that for?!" she cried. By this time everyone had stopped their sparring and turned their attention to 18.  
  
While inwardly Jake was surprised at her reaction, he didn't let it show.  
  
"I had to test something," he evenly replied.  
  
"And just what the hell are you testing?" Krillin asked, the anger clearly evident in his voice.  
  
"She's not an android, exactly."  
  
"What do you mean I'm not an android? I was created by Dr. Gero in a laboratory. What do you think that makes me?"  
  
"No, your friend 16 was an android. Your brother wasn't and neither are you. You're a cyborg."  
  
"So, what does that mean?" Krillin asked.  
  
"Nothing, really, I thought she was far too advanced to be a simple machine, and I was right." Everyone was glaring at him now. "This doesn't concern you. Just go back to training."  
  
No one moved.  
  
Jake realized they really didn't like him. Fortunately, Goku spoke up and relived the tension. "C'mon guys, you heard him, let's get back to it. Besides, I still have to show Vegeta the thirty different ways I can beat him."  
  
Vegeta immediately responded to the taunt. "Kakkarot, I will crush you!" he roared as he flew at his nemesis. The others decided it was best to go back to sparring; they didn't want to get too much into this new guy's business, not when he could kill them all without even trying.  
  
18 still glared at him. "This really hurts, you know."  
  
"You'll be fine. I just wanted to know if you could feel pain. Androids don't feel anything. They may have a programmed response to a broken bone or a stubbed toe, but they merely do that to blend in."  
  
"Well how do you know that my pain isn't simply an automated response?"  
  
"Because nothing else about you is automated. You are too 'human' to be a machine. There's more to you than silicon and neural connectors. Look at you, you're bleeding. Machines... androids...don't bleed."  
  
True enough, 18 had a good bit of blood trickling down her arm from where a piece of her metal skeleton had punctured the skin.  
  
"So why was it necessary to break my damn wrist?"  
  
Jake thought about it. Why did he do that? Lately he had been thinking about his actions in the recent past, and not all of them had been logical or rational. A coldness had been slowly creeping over him, manifesting itself randomly, like back in that alley. And now it was happening here.  
  
"...it wasn't." That was as much of an apology as he was ready to give. "Here, take one of these," he said, reaching into his pocket for another pill.  
  
"Great, but what do I do about this?" She held up her bloodied arm and a few dangling wires were visible from where her metal skeleton had punctured her skin. Her hand hung limply from her wrist.  
  
"Shit," he thought to himself. "Come with me." Jake then made a few hand gestures to a camera, and pointed to 18. He led her to the main entrance, where a crewman was waiting to take her to the machine shop.  
  
Everyone immediately took notice of his absence and had stopped their training. Before anyone said anything he returned, albeit with out 18.  
  
"Hey, where's 18?" Krillin asked.  
  
"She's getting repaired. She'll be back here in a few minutes. Just go back to sparring. I'll watch you guys and get a gauge of your techniques and power, for now."  
  
Despite the fact that it was very awkward for them to be told to go back to training like a bunch of kids, they did it, mostly out of fear. They had taken notice of what he had done to 18, including his response, and were now wavering in their resolution. This guy was potentially dangerous, but none of them could do anything to stop him.  
  
No one let their disconcertion show. The group trained while Sabre watched their every move. He stood off in one corner of the room to view everyone at once. They were nearing their maximum power levels now, four hours into their training, and were focused intently on their respective duels. Piccolo clearly had the upper hand in his match with Gohan, as he was the strongest of them all in their current forms. Trunks had a small edge over Krillin in their fight, although Krillin was getting in some good hits. Tien was giving Yamcha a pretty bad whooping as the former bandit clearly wasn't putting his all into it. Goku and Vegeta were dead even, even though Vegeta's power was a good bit greater than his opponent. He was letting his anger control his technique, which made him sloppy. Every time he scored a good hit on Goku, he would relax a bit and wore an expression that gave away how he was clearly gloating to himself. And every time, Goku would come back and deliver a blow to knock Vegeta's ego into check.  
  
Jake was making mental notes as to what each fighter needed to work on, and what techniques he could teach them to enhance their overall abilities. He was also interested in what they could teach him. They were using a variety of techniques and moves which were completely foreign to him. It would be to the Coalition's advantage to incorporate these styles. They would need everything they could use against the Necrons. He looked down at his watch to check the time when it felt like a brick hit him square in the jaw. He was lifted clear off the floor and sent skidding into the wall with a loud thud. Waves of pain made their way across his face, as did his expression of shock. He looked up to see 18 standing just next to where he had been, wearing a smirk on her face.  
  
"Now, we're even."  
  
Jake tried to respond but was stopped when a stabbing pain told him to reconsider. He wiped a good bit of blood from his jaw where his teeth cut his lips, feeling to make sure that his jaw wasn't dislocated. It wasn't, though it still hurt like hell. Jake shook his head and slowly got to his feet, still a bit dizzy. He looked at 18 and could see that Vrakan had managed to repair her arm perfectly; it was the same arm she struck him with.  
  
"Ha! Look at that! The high and mighty 'super human' got beat by the android!" came Vegeta's grating voice. Now, more than ever, he really didn't want to hear it.  
  
"Oh, great, I guess everyone saw that," Jake thought unhappily. His ego was hurting more than his jaw. It wasn't so much the fact that she had hit him, but that he hadn't even seen her coming. "You were sloppy Jake, you should have noticed her presence," he chided himself.  
  
"That's funny Vegeta, I remember doing something similar to you, only you weren't able to stand up afterwards," 18 responded coldly.  
  
"Are you challenging me, android? I'll break you like the cheap plastic toy you are!"  
  
"Alright, that's enough!" Jake painfully shouted. He then turned to 18, rubbing his jaw. "So, we're even now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You wanna' get back to where we left off?" he asked through a clenched jaw.  
  
"Fine."  
  
After this exchange everyone was subtly relieved. Now that 18 had returned the favor and Sabre hadn't gone berserk, they felt a little better. Maybe it was the fact that they were heading into the unknown that had them so nervous. But for now, they had gained back a little of the respect they had lost for the man.  
  
The rest of the training session was uneventful. They trained for nearly 10 hours, and were surprised to find they were hardly tired or hungry. Jake explained that the air they were breathing was specially designed to increase oxygen levels in the blood, also mentioning the presence of micronutrients that slowly replenished the warrior's energy.  
  
While everyone was training, Bulma and Chi-Chi decided to find something to keep themselves busy. Bulma pestered the crewmen she encountered about various technologies the Coalition used, and assimilated the knowledge at a remarkable rate. Chi-Chi found that she had a natural talent for mechanical and electrical engineering. While she had no understanding of the fundamental physics and science involved, she was able to understand how they worked together. Her attention to detail also came in handy.  
  
When the training session finally ended, Jake headed to his quarters, just aft of the bridge. He was about to step into the shower when his comm. table lit up. The screen filled with the logo of the Galactic Coalition Special Operations Division, then with a series of warnings and official tags. He recognized the headers: it was from the GCS Acies, Resa's ship. Her face materialized on the screen.  
  
"Colonel Devarro, we have a problem." 


	9. Props

Alright, first off I need to extend my gratitude to CommandoCody for his editing help and consulting in this story. His help has been invaluable and motivated me to keep this up. Thanks also to Dark Wizard, who has provided me with some new ideas, as well as Agent G, and the others who I forget who keep assisting my in my endeavor.  
  
Now you finally get some background to my little OC. I'll introduce more of his mysterious past as the story weaves onward.  
  
My story is just gonna keep going until more and more people read it. But this isn't for them, it's for me. =)  
  
Once again, direct anything productive you have to arclight@uga.edu  
  
--Epsilon (arclight) 


	10. Chapter 9

3  
  
GCS Dante, Outer Sol System  
  
1705 Hours  
  
Resa's face made his heart skip a beat—it had been doing that a lot lately. Now, however, was no time for sentiment; the tone in her voice was deadly serious.  
  
"Yes, Colonel?" said Jake to the image of Resa floating in the holo-screen.  
  
"As of 1705 hours, GCS standard time, I'm declaring an emergency on board the Acies. Probable Necron infiltration team." Resa's black eyes were piercing, her voice as cool as ice water. It wasn't probability she was expressing: it was certainty. A sinking feeling developed in the pit of Jake's stomach.  
  
"What's your status?"  
  
"We're dead in space. Engines went offline fifteen minutes ago, followed by a complete loss of main power. Internal sensors are offline, and I've lost contact with decks twenty-two through thirty."  
  
Jake did not like the sound of this. If he remembered the schematics of a Dartim-class cruiser correctly, a third of the ship had already been lost.  
  
"How far are you from the rendezvous point?" asked Jake.  
  
"We're still three days out."  
  
Jake did some quick math. At top speed, it would take them at least another...week to reach her. Damnit, she didn't have that kind of time. When he spoke again to the holo-Resa, he felt helpless.  
  
"Colonel, at top speed we're—" Resa waved him off.  
  
"I know, sir. But we don't have that long. Our only chance is to get the engines back online and hold out in engineering for as long as we can. I've already got a team working on it, and we're moving supplies and personnel down there as fast as we can. We'll try to reinforce the bulkheads, but I don't know how much good that'll do." Someone off screen called for Resa's attention and she turned to address them.  
  
The brief respite set Jake's mind running. The layout of a Dartim-class Cruiser reappeared in his head, and his mind's eye zoomed to engineering. Yes...it wasn't great, but it was the best they could do. The engineering section was the largest and most shielded part of the ship. At least they'd be able to see the Necrons coming. Light-years away, Resa dismissed with a curse whoever was pestering her and returned her attention to Jake.  
  
"No one has as of yet reported contact with the 'Necs, but that's probably because they were all killed before they could get a word out. At last count, we have reports that over two dozen people are missing."  
  
"Missing" of course meant dead or dying. Necron infiltration teams were stealthy, crafty, and insidious, never attacking openly until they were certain to win—almost the exact opposite of their front line brethren. Resa was by far the strongest on the ship—almost certainly stronger than any of the individual Necrons—but an entire Necron team at once was too much for even Resa to handle. And she knew it.  
  
"Resa..." Jake's voice trailed off.  
  
"Not now," said Resa, "I know what we have to do. We'll hold out for as long as we-" Resa's image and voice disappeared for a moment as the connection was interrupted. When it returned, her face was basked in the eerie red glow of emergency lights. "Shit! That explosion took out primary communications and astrogation." The screen began to distort and crackle. "Secondary comm. is fading. Alright, Jake, we gotta get going."  
  
Jake was deeply concerned, but now was not the time to let it show. "Okay, get to it. But Resa..."  
  
"What?" Resa asked impatiently.  
  
"Don't die on me."  
  
Her mouth curved into her cocky Saiyan smile. "I won't." The screen went blank.  
  
Jake punched up engineering on the comm. "Chief Vrakan."  
  
"Yes, colonel?"  
  
"I need you to increase our speed to max. Then give me 30% more."  
  
"Uh, sir?"  
  
"It's the Acies, she's in trouble."  
  
"Aye, sir. I'll see what I can do."  
  
The colonel leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and ran his hand through his hair. There had to be something more he could do. Even at 130%, they were still days away. The situation looked hopeless until he recalled that Vegeta's lady friend, Bulga or Boogla or something, was a scientific genius. He quickly made his way to her quarters and roused her from her slumber with the shrill ring from the doorbell. Bulma answered the door, groggy and half-dressed, to find Sabre standing at the entrance impatiently.  
  
"What do you know about engines?" he asked her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can you make this ship go faster?"  
  
"I, I don't know. I mean, I could try, but I don't-"  
  
"That's good enough for me. Get dressed. I'll grab you a stim on the way to engineering."  
  
Bulma didn't have much of a choice. She threw on a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt, pulled her hair back, grabbed her shoes and followed Sabre. They stopped on the medical deck to grab the stim, which looked like a small syringe without the needle. He took her forearm with one hand and put the syringe to it with the other, using his thumb to depress the plunger. Bulma hardly felt anything.  
  
"When does this kick in?" she asked.  
  
"You'll see."  
  
A moment later, she was awash with a feeling of euphoria, and uncontrollably laughing. A rational corner of her mind wanted to voice this, but couldn't get out anything more specific than a series of gagging utterances. Sabre, somehow, seemed to understand anyway.  
  
"Don't worry, it'll pass." Sabre decided that now would not be the time to mention that he'd accidentally given her a dosage meant to be used on Saiyans. Oh well, she'd just come down hard and probably sleep for two days, but she'd be in the zone for the next twenty-four hours. Hopefully it would be enough.  
  
"Whoa, you're right!" Bulma exclaimed second later. "I feel like...I don't know, I have so much energy. I feel like I could shoot it out of my hands!" Bulma stuck her hands together—an imitation of Goku's Kamehameha wave stance—and pointed it at the nearest bulkhead, giggling furiously. Sabre gently put her hands to her sides and gave her a gentle nudge onward.  
  
"You can try that later. Right now we have to get to engineering."  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure," Bulma said, intently looking at her palms.  
  
Sabre took the energized woman down to engineering, with her practically skipping the whole way. When the arrived, he introduced her to Chief Engineer Vrakan and Warrant Officer Transa. Vrakan and Transa were Danti, and as such their elongated, bald heads and diminutive stature made them look like reptilian midgets. Bulma commented on this, but Sabre was quick to inform them she was hopped up on stims. The Danti clicked something to each other then Vrakan addressed Bulma in standard.  
  
"Well, green-haired woman, what do you know about faster-than-light shipdrives?" Bulma actually stood still for one moment before exploding into a whirlwind of narrative.  
  
"Um, well, I think I think I think what you gotta do is create a warp field around the ship in order to pull it through space and to do that you'll need some sorta massive power source and field generator to form the warp bubble and then you gotta keep the field calibrated and in alignment otherwise the ship will be torn apart and that would be bad we were working on that back on Earth but we could never solve the issue of field alignmentbutIguessyouguyshaveitsolved." The two Danti stood immobile for a moment, not sure whether they were supposed to be impressed or afraid. Watching her go on like that was really hypnotizing. Transa broke his trance first and tried to appease the beaming woman.  
  
"You are more or less, correct," said Transa. He motioned to Bulma to come over to the control station. "Take a look at what we have here. We're trying to increase field output and raise the rate of fusion in the FTL antechambers..."  
  
Sabre left them to their work and jargon. He took the lift back up to the bridge where the night crew was quietly monitoring their stations. All was quiet. The Dante had left the solar system hours ago and was now traveling through the void between stars. Aside from the occasional nebula or asteroid, these areas were filled with absolute nothingness.  
  
And Resa was out there.  
  
Jake now had to fight the urge to fidget and squirm in his chair, forcing his body to be still while his mind was raging. Above all things, he hated to be powerless, and in this situation that was exactly what he was. He debated whether to waken his slumbering passengers, but decided that it would be best to let them sleep. He could brief them in the morning before another training session, and hopefully by then the improvised engineering team could give him a better option than finding the Acies a ghost ship.  
  
He didn't sleep, and probably wouldn't for quite some time. So he stewed. The night passed without incident, and Sabre received only a few status reports from engineering, most of them noting Bulma's enthusiasm, intelligence, and current state of hyperactivity. The team was considering some radical things, most of them proposed by the rambling genius human. By the time Jake went to waken his passengers, Bulma and the Thrakans had nearly finished a working theoretical model.  
  
Most of the team was in the shower when he arrived to rouse them. The fact that they were nearly ready pleased him, and he decided not to awaken Eve; there was no reason to have her around except to complicate matters. He lead the team to the mess hall, and there they ate a variety of nutrient and energy-packed pastes. Goku was surprised at the flavor and texture of the meal.  
  
"Wow, this is really good stuff," he said, while squeezing an entire tube of red paste into his mouth.  
  
The rest of the group was more tentative, but soon finished the tubes they were allotted. Vegeta was eating alone, mumbling something about the presumption that a prince should eat with paupers. Piccolo sat with the rest, and was given a tube as well, only this one, it was explained to him, was metabolized directly into his body after putting it in his mouth, allowing for the Namek's lack of any real digestive track. Even 18, sitting across from Krillin, decided to eat, if only to fit in.  
  
There was some small talk, but for the most part they were silent. Jake knew that they probably talked quite a bit last night, and were anticipating what would come next. Getting up from the table, he announced to them the schedule for the day.  
  
"Alright people, there has been a slight change of plans. From here, we're going to a briefing, as there has been an unexpected development. After that, we'll go back to training. Today you will learn who your enemy really is."  
  
When everyone had disposed of their trays, they followed Sabre to a mid- level deck near the bridge. Obviously the briefing room, it was large enough to fit them all, with seats to spare. Along the starboard side of the room ran a long rectangular window, giving the group a beautiful panorama of space. Since the warp drives were taken offline, the ship had exited FTL space and the view was taken up by an azure binary star system. The earthlings were enthralled by the sight. Vegeta looked bored.  
  
"Alright, I have some news for you all. At 1700 hours yesterday evening, I receive a distress call from the GCS Acies, the ship we are supposed to rendezvous with. They are dead in space, and are under siege by a Necron infiltration team. Currently, Bulma and the ship's engineers are working on a way to get us to the Acies's position faster. Which means that when we arrive, we will be boarding the ship to rescue any survivors. You'll be fighting Necrons."  
  
Krillin looked nervous. "Do you think we're ready? We only just got here yesterday."  
  
"You'll have to be ready."  
  
Vegeta looked incredulous. "Can't you handle these creatures all by yourself?"  
  
"Base on their power levels, yes, I should. But Necron infiltration teams work differently. I'll need you all there to watch my back. They operate as a team, and never attack alone unless they are sure to kill quickly. It's not their sheer strength I'm worried about, but their craft. Working as a team, we should be able to take back the ship without trouble. Getting there in time will be the hard part."  
  
"Well, if anyone can make a machine better, it's Bulma," Goku offered.  
  
"I certainly hope so. Now," Jake said, changing subjects, "I hope you all are quick studies, because we have a lot of information to get through, and not much time to do it in."  
  
Sabre pushed a button on the table and the lights dimmed. A viewscreen descended from the ceiling and flickered to life. It was positioned directly in the center of the room, and could be viewed from either side. Sabre entered a few commands into the system, and a picture of a black alien appeared on the screen.  
  
"This is a Necron. We have been unable to communicate with them in any way. All attempts at peaceful contact have resulted in the destruction of our envoy. What you are seeing is a standard infantryman."  
  
The black figure was certainly intimidating. It was covered with a variety of devices that were attached to its armor. It had four appendages, two of them legs and two arms, and it stood upright with a straightened spine, which made it bipedal. A scale next to the creature read it to be seven and a half feet tall. Its head was completely bald with a series of jagged lines crisscrossing its skull. Set into it were blood red eyes and noting else, not even a feeding hole to speak of. Its forearms were covered with an external, symmetrical, jagged bone structure. In its hands was a large gun unfamiliar to any of the warriors.  
  
"They aren't too much to worry about, and have a power level of only about fifty thousand or so. The guns they carry are much more effective however, and are equivalent to a blast from a warrior with a power level of about a million. Even en masse, they pose little threat to warriors of our caliber."  
  
Sabre flashed through a few more pictures of lower-class warriors and described their various strengths and weaknesses. He didn't spend too much time on them however, because that job would fall to regular army and marine units. He stopped at an image of a rather small looking fighter with a large, almost spherical head.  
  
"Okay, this one is particularly nasty. They're not fighters, but support units with psychic abilities. They transmit false images in your minds, distorting reality. There is almost no way to distinguish the false images from reality. They can make you believe anything. If you see one of these guys, take 'em out as fast as you can."  
  
"How is that possible?" asked Tien. "Chaotzu had limited psychic abilities, but nothing like that."  
  
Jake sighed. "We're not entirely sure. At least, I'm not. All information regarding telepathy is classified information locked away in PsyCorps."  
  
Yamcha noticed something Sabre had said. "You said there is 'almost' no way to distinguish those false images they send?"  
  
"Normally, there isn't unless you have received intensive mental training from a high-level teep. The only other way is for us to have our own telepathic transmitters in the field with us, blocking their signals.  
  
The image on the screen changed. It was a blurry figure, one the group immediately recognized. It was the Necron that followed Sabre to Earth.  
  
"Assassin/Infiltration unit," Sabre informed them. "There aren't any discernable features separating the two except in how they operate. Assassins work alone, whereas the infiltrators work in teams of six to nine. All are moderately strong, and are extremely capable fighters. They only engage in direct combat when cornered, otherwise, they rely on stealth and sabotage to achieve their goals." Sabre repositioned the image on the screen and enhanced the magnification to 2x. "As you can see by their picture, they use some sort of energy system or their ki to mask their appearance. We haven't been able to determine which. This Necron was caught in a transition phase, otherwise the camera would have picked up nothing. They do not mask their ki, but project it all around, making it difficult to track them, but it can be done. From what I've seen, you've mastered that art in your own training."  
  
"So, we won't see them, but we should be able to feel them coming?" Piccolo asked.  
  
"Right."  
  
Piccolo grunted, thinking about the implications it would have on the techniques he chose to use.  
  
The briefing continued, and the group familiarized themselves with their new enemy. It was certainly a different experience, being given information before hand going into battle. They learned which Necrons were leaders, which ones to ignore, which weapons to watch out for, and how to identify friendly targets without visual contact.  
  
Jake saved the most sobering information for last.  
  
"Now, we come to the only Necrons we have not been able to study or defeat. The ones that destroyed my team." An edge was creeping into his voice, but he tried his best to keep it in check. He forwarded the images until he came to a crisp shot of a Necron cyborg in action.  
  
Standing at over nine feet tall, it looked sleek and deadly. A grid was placed over its body, separating it into two layers. The interior layer displayed thin tubes interwoven through its musculature, snaking their way all over the Necron's body. The readout showed that it wore no armor, but instead had a superdense exoskeleton into which the tubes fed. The outer skeleton was broken at joints, allowing the creature to maintain free range of motion. Unlike the bulky and misshapen regular infantry, the cyborg had a perfectly rounded head with only two dull, robotic red eyes and the usual absence of any ears, nose, or mouth. Two ribbed, thick tubes ran from either side of its lower skull into its neck, at the nape of which was a circular implant that looked to be a jack of some sort. Its exposed skin looked completely smooth, but upon magnification, it resembled fine-grain sandpaper.  
  
Its torso was V-shaped, broad shoulders and back tapering to a narrow pivot for a waist, allowing its legs to face both forward and backwards. A superdense, synaptic-linked rod served as its spinal column that terminated in the pivot. Its hands had only three cybernetic fingers and an opposable thumb that could connect to a variety of armaments, ranging from physical shields to energy canons. Its shielded limbs looked formidable, as the exoskeleton came to smooth, sharp edges along its ventral surfaces.  
  
Sabre could sense the intensity with which the group was studying the image. He was glad they appreciated the importance of the information he was providing them. To be forewarned was to be forearmed. And they would need all the armament they could get in this war.  
  
"So, these are their ultimate creations?" Vegeta asked, a hint of a challenge in his voice.  
  
"Yes. They're unrelenting. They will give you no quarter, no respite. They will not gloat and they will not falter. If you are their target, they won't stop until you're dead. If you're in their way, they'll remove you."  
  
Vegeta spoke up again. "So, I take it you weren't their target? You're still standing here."  
  
The question was supposed to insult his pride, and it did, but Sabre didn't let it show. "No, we weren't. On Rigel VII they went after the planetary shield generators and then the command staff."  
  
Piccolo wasn't happy with the lack of information about this opponent. "Is there anything else you can tell us about them? This report is less detailed than the rest. You did fight them and survive, after all. What insight can you give us?"  
  
The question pleased Sabre. It showed initiative. "For starters, those rigid-looking tubes in its neck aren't rigid at all. I landed a lucky right hook on one of the bastards, and its neck spun damn near all the way around. Blocking hits from these things isn't easy, either. As you can see, their exoskeleton comes to sharp edges on its limbs, and I'm damned sure those sonsabitches are monomolecualr so that when they strike with their forearms and legs, the blows will cut. Try to counter with deflection blows, if you can. Unfortunately, I don't have much more than that. My fight with them didn't last long."  
  
The group was silent for a moment, then Gohan asked, "There won't be any of those cyborgs on that ship, right?"  
  
"No. The report I received described activity indicative of an infiltration team." Jake paused for a moment and surveyed the warriors. He knew they were still trying to absorb the enormity of the situation, so close to another titanic battle of their own, against another seemingly invincible enemy. It was now his job to encourage them. "Don't worry; I'm not going to put you into a situation I don't think you're ready to handle. You all are an exceptional group of fighters, among the best I have ever seen. I've studied your battles in the past, and the progress you've made over the years is nothing short of remarkable. I'm not going to let you down; this is my war too."  
  
Nearly everyone appreciated his sentiments, except for the ever-surly Saiyan Prince. "Bah! Save your tripe for the children. Where do these abominations come from, anyway? The Saiyan Empire never fought anything resembling these creatures."  
  
"Well, Vegeta, we haven't been able to determine exactly where they came from. We know they came from beyond the galactic rim. Whether they were spawned in the void, or they came from another galaxy, we don't know. We haven't been able to get any ships out there. What we do know is that this isn't the first time they've been in our part of space. Ancient records in the Tycho system indicate that the forerunners of this galaxy encountered them long ago, but only obtuse and vague references exist."  
  
"Wow, this big," Yamcha said, letting out a sigh.  
  
"Yes, yes it is. But, we have to take it one day at a time. I've covered all I wanted to for today. Now it's time to get back to training. Any questions?"  
  
There were none. Sabre knew that had plenty stewing in their minds, but were not yet comfortable enough to ask them. The bonding process would be a difficult one. He knew it wouldn't be until their first engagement that walls would start to come down.  
  
"Fine then. Make your way down to the training deck. I'll be down in a few minutes."  
  
The entire group left the room at once, with the exception of Trunks, who stayed back to talk to Sabre alone. He approached the severe looking man tentatively.  
  
"Uh, sir, I just wanted to know something."  
  
The human looked at the half-Saiyan, and saw a face that had seen its own share of tragedy and destruction.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"How bad is it?"  
  
"Do you really want to know?"  
  
Trunks averted his eyes. "I've spent my whole life fighting against forces stronger than me. I'm no stranger to the ugly truth."  
  
"It's bad. Real bad. We're outnumbered by at least four-to-one on all fronts. If we can't stop them soon, we'll have to begin evacuation of our home system."  
  
"Where will you go?"  
  
"As far away as possible. We don't know if they'll follow us. If they do, we'll try to scatter across the void, but eventually, they'll find us. And that will be the end."  
  
"The end of what?"  
  
"Everything." Jake looked out at the swirling star system. Trunks did as well. They both understood that feeling all too well.  
  
The two stood in silence for quite some time.  
  
Trunks finally asked, "Can we really make a difference?"  
  
Jake had to convince himself that they could. "I believe that we can try. I gained my ability to transform when I was your age. That feels like a lifetime ago. It defied all logic, and all known science. What I became should not have been possible. What we are trying to do now is defying all logic, and defying all the odds. Our victory should not be possible. And yet, here we are. And I think that says it all."  
  
The purple-haired teen nodded his head, turned, and left the room.  
  
By the end of their conversation, everyone else was in the training room warming up. Vegeta and Goku were the first to start up, followed by the humans who commenced a three-way spar. When Sabre arrived a few minutes after Trunks, he took charge of the group.  
  
"Today I'm dividing us up into three groups. The humans are with me in the first third of the room. The Saiyans will take the far third of the room, and Piccolo and 18 the middle third. I'm going to set the gravity to one hundred times normal at the far end and sixty times normal in the middle." The group would later find out that 'normal' gravity in the Tycho system was approximately one and a half times greater than Earth standard "We'll be training at twenty," he said, looking at the humans, who looked a bit embarrassed to be at such a low level. "The rest of you, train as you see fit. I will not interfere with you."  
  
Vegeta resumed his fight with Goku at the far end wordlessly, leaving Gohan and Trunks together by default. Piccolo removed his weighted clothes and began his session with 18. Sabre motioned to a camera, and the sections of the chamber became visibly distorted with the increase in gravity. The blows from the other side of the room echoed strangely back to the humans.  
  
"Hey, I know we're not as strong as the others, but I know we can handle more that twenty gees." Tien said, arms crossed.  
  
"I know you can. But from what I gathered from my transformation, it occurred in here, and not out here," Sabre said, motioning to his head and body, respectively. "I honestly can't tell you what the trigger was. I wish I could. You'll have to find it within yourself. Just know that it is there. Now, let's begin with some floating meditation."  
  
The humans shot each other looks of uncertainty, but did as they were told. Jake led them as best he could through their mental exercises, knowing that he could only show them the door; it would be up to them to figure out how to unlock it.  
  
Noise from the rest of the chamber increased as time progressed, the fighters increasing their power levels evenly over time. Piccolo and 18 went at each other with calculated precision, only exchanging a few words here and there. Neither had anything to say to the other. A few hours in, Piccolo was nearing his maximum power level, and was mildly surprised that 18 kept up. He'd had a slight advantage over her twin in their previous encounter, but knew that his strength had significantly increased since leaving the room of spirit and time. The only explanation he could come up with was that 18 had somehow become stronger while inside Cell, perhaps taking some of his power with her when she was removed. The Namek pondered the implications of this and other aspects of the cyborg during the rest of their session. Whether she could be trusted or not remained to be seen.  
  
Goku and Vegeta's sparring was going as well as could be expected. The intensity of their fight steadily increased, fueled by both men for different reasons. Goku's jovial and friendly competition only aggravated the Saiyan Prince, who insisted upon staking his honor in all of their skirmishes. When Goku used an unfamiliar combination of strikes and broke through Vegeta's defenses, knocking him into a bulkhead, the smaller Saiyan enraged himself into a Super Saiyan. And thus began their combat anew.  
  
While Gohan and Trunks were training less intensively, they eventually transformed as well, if only to better avoid the stray blows and blasts from the other pair's duel. The increased gravity affected their performance, especially their ki beams, forcing the warriors to arc their blasts higher and lead further. The added strain on their bodies put more emphasis on focusing their energy and making their blows more precise. The Super Saiyans were surprised to find themselves tiring six hours into the training, unaware that they were actually enveloped in one hundred fifty times normal gravity.  
  
On the opposite end of the chamber, hovering along the wall, the four humans, eyes closed, were deep into a linked meditation. This mental state differed from normal meditation in that the four minds each received a mental projection and sent one of their own. It was not telepathy, because it was a purely subconscious exercise, and each had to struggle to maintain their own metal integrity while sustaining the input from the other three. Sabre explained to them that it was a relatively new technique devised by a GCS R&D section, and would become easier as they grew accustomed to each other's minds.  
  
Hours into the meditation, they were still only forming tentative connections at best, but there was a wealth of information and self- discovery laid before them.  
  
Tien was the closest of the Earthlings to achieving a balance within his mind. Normal meditation had long ago become a matter of routine, but the addition of three other psyches into his mind was another matter altogether. They appeared to him as grainy figures, evidence of the tenuous situation. They would fade in and out of his vision as they struggled to anchor themselves in each other's minds. Sabre's white figure was the most prominent and clear. Tien could sense that he was trying to lead him towards something, but exactly what wasn't clear. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Sabre pulled out of the link, momentarily stunning the other three and causing them to fall to the ground.  
  
"What did you do that for?" Tien asked, standing up.  
  
Sabre rolled his neck. "Times up. It's been ten hours."  
  
"Really? Man, it seemed like...I don't know, but not ten hours," Krillin said, surprised at the passage of time. He rubbed his head.  
  
Sure enough, the others had finished their sparring and were leaning or sitting against the walls, including 18, whose energy core was shunting most of its power to regenerate and recuperate her spent body.  
  
Yamcha rubbed his temples. "I don't know about you guys, but I feel drained, through and through."  
  
"Yes, you should be exhausted. This was not an easy exercise. I didn't think it would last all the way through. Your minds are more developed than I thought," Sabre said.  
  
Tien looked at Sabre. "Our training has always included some mental activities. But nothing like this."  
  
"Interesting," was the reply.  
  
After a few moment of silence, Tien asked, "So, what to we do now?"  
  
Sabre looked past the other humans, down to the far end of the chamber, and yelled, "Alright everyone, we're done for the day. If there is any progress down in engineering, I'll let you know. Do as you wish, I'll be on the bridge." With that, he left the chamber.  
  
"That guy is one cold stone," Krillin observed.  
  
Tien sighed. "Yeah, he's not exactly buddying up with us. But, that mental link we were doing was one hell of an exercise. I felt like I almost got the hang of it near the end."  
  
Yamcha was surprised. "Really man? I couldn't get the hang of it. I kept jumping all over the place."  
  
"Well, we could try it again later, just the three of us," Tien proposed.  
  
Yamcha rubbed his neck and looked down. "Huh? No way man, I got a killer headache."  
  
Krillin was of a similar mindset. "Yeah, that was pretty intense, I just wanna rest up before we try again."  
  
Tenshinhan was disappointed; he always wanted to push himself further. Unfortunately, his friends weren't as eager.  
  
"Alright guys, I understand." Tien looked over at Goku, who was coming back towards them with the others staggered behind him. "How'd it go for you guys?"  
  
"Pretty good. I think we got a good work out in, right Vegeta?"  
  
Vegeta glowered. "If by workout you mean pounding your face, then yes, it was good. You're lucky I don't strike you down now, Kakkarot."  
  
"Heh, I guess so! Chi-chi would be awfully mad at you, though."  
  
The Saiyan prince grunted and walked past Goku, who had stopped with the humans, and out of the chamber.  
  
"So, what were you guys doing over here? I felt some weird power fluctuations."  
  
"Mental training," Tien responded. "Apparently, us humans' strength lies in our minds, or so Sabre tells us."  
  
"Huh, is that so?" Goku thought about it for a moment. "I guess it makes sense. I always wondered why your Kikoho put out so much more energy than your body seemed to have. And your Kienzan too, Krillin."  
  
Gohan came up behind his father, Trunks at his side. "Hey dad, I'm gonna shower and then find mom."  
  
"Okay, son. I'll see you later. Don't get lost!"  
  
Gohan rolled his eyes and left the room, followed wordlessly by 18, who shot a glance at Krillin, but keeping her usual look of icy detachment on her face.  
  
"You know Krillin," Yamcha said, his face breaking into a grin, "I think she likes you."  
  
The tiny man's cheeks turned bright red. "What are you talking about? I don't, I mean, she doesn't, I mean..." he continued to stammer until Goku mercifully cut him off.  
  
"It's okay Krillin. We all know something's up. You should go and talk to her. She's real pretty."  
  
"A pretty good killing machine," Trunks interjected flatly. "I wouldn't be alone with her, if I were you." The teen clenched his fists at the memory of the 18 of his time.  
  
Goku noticed his tension, and tried to defuse it. "Trunks, I don't think she's like the one you know. She's been acting a lot differently, right? She's not exactly friendly, but, she hasn't tried to hurt us, er, recently."  
  
His efforts were in vain. "It doesn't mean she won't try."  
  
With that, the purple-haired teen left the chamber.  
  
Krillin ran his hands over his bald head. "Well, he still holds a grudge."  
  
"I think you would too, if you grew up the way he did," Tien said.  
  
Piccolo, who had been standing in the middle of the chamber, finally made his way over to the group. "You know, he was out with the human girl the other night. They didn't return until the early morning."  
  
"How do you know that?" Krillin asked.  
  
"I heard them," the Namek responded, pointing to his ears. "I also heard Chi-Chi's incessant blabbering. I don't know how you put up with it, Goku."  
  
The Saiyan laughed. "Oh, it's not that bad, once you get used to it. Sort of like training in high gravity. Man that felt good."  
  
"Do you think this training is going to get us anywhere?" Piccolo asked Goku.  
  
"I don't know. Hard to tell from just the first two days. I think they're just watching us, trying to figure out our strengths and weaknesses."  
  
"Yeah, probably being all scientific about it," Yamcha said. "I remember for the longest time Bulma wanted to poke and prod me, but I wouldn't have any part of it."  
  
Tien couldn't resist the opportunity. "Yeah, but now Vegeta does all the poking and prodding, right buddy?"  
  
While the others laughed, Yamcha was half-heartedly indignant. "That was low, man."  
  
"This is nice, you guys. Just like old times," Goku said, reminiscing.  
  
"Except Piccolo isn't trying to kill us anymore," Krillin added.  
  
Tien looked Goku in the eyes. "If Sabre can get us up to his level, I'd sure love to have a rematch of the 24th Budokai."  
  
Goku smiled back. "I'd like that."  
  
Tenshinhan had always wanted to go against Goku again, but ever since Radditz landed on Earth, Goku had been ahead by leaps and bounds. His warrior spirit was very similar to Goku's and he trained nearly as much, but his body was far more limited than the Saiyan's. He was able to strengthen the effect of some of his attacks, but it had been a long time since he could go blow to blow with his friendly rival.  
  
When the group eventually left the chamber, Eve had already found Trunks, who was coming out of the shower.  
  
"Ooo, my, don't we have a hot bod," she said coyly, squeezing his arm.  
  
The blood rushed to the teen's face, as well as to a certain lower extremity.  
  
"Heh, uh, um, I'll be right back, I'm just gonna, uh, change..." Trunks side- stepped and scurried out of the restroom as fast as possible. His towel nearly dropped, and Eve whistled to herself at the view from the rear. She clicked her tongue and walked to his room.  
  
"Knock knock," she said, after opening his door. Trunks was fumbling around, trying to get his shirt on. Normally a simple process, but now it confounded him. Eve approached him, and helped pull his t-shirt down, keeping her hands on his hips.  
  
"So, how was training today?"  
  
"It was, uh, good."  
  
"I came down to the training deck, and popped into the control room for a bit. You all looked like you were hard at work."  
  
"Yeh- yeah. We were."  
  
Eve removed her hands from Trunks's hips and sat down on a nearby mattress. "You guys do anything else today?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, we had a briefing. Sabre talked to us all about the Necrons, we studied images, and uh, stuff."  
  
"Sabre, huh? Like a sword. I guess that would make him sharp. His real name is Jake, you know."  
  
"Oh, ah, no, I didn't." Trunks began to feel that strange sensation in his head again.  
  
"So, what about those Necrons, anything interesting?" Eve asked.  
  
"Uh, not, really, other than that they're evil, and destroying planets."  
  
The sensation became stronger, and it felt as if something was pulling his head forward.  
  
Eve stared at him intently, as if she expected him to say something.  
  
"So, you guys are really going to fight them?"  
  
"Yeh- yes."  
  
"Think you can beat 'em?"  
  
"I, uh, I don't know. But we'll try." Trunks felt his head begin to swim.  
  
"So, you don't even know if you'll be able to stop them?"  
  
"No, I don't, but," Trunks paused and rubbed his temples, "but, it's our duty to help."  
  
"Really, huh? How noble." Eve curled her hair around her finger. A moment later, Trunks's discomfort faded. "You know what I want to do now?"  
  
Trunks shook his head.  
  
"I wanna go to engineering."  
  
"But, um, is that really a good idea? What if we-"  
  
"Oh, you mamma's boys with all your what ifs! Come on!"  
  
Eve sprightly leapt off the bed and pulled Trunks out the door, his hair still wet. They rounded the corner to the lift when Eve ran directly into Vegeta's back, and bouncing off and onto the floor.  
  
Vegeta turned around, arms crossed, a frown on his face. "Well if it isn't the happy couple."  
  
"Oh, hi, uh, Vegeta." Trunks gently helped Eve off the floor.  
  
The human girl had a smirk on her face. "So, this is your father? He's not very tall."  
  
"You had better watch your tongue, girl," the Saiyan said, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"Oh, I apologize," she said sarcastically, bowing deeply, "I meant no offense to his lordship."  
  
Trunks leaned in towards the girl. "Why are you doing this, Eve?"  
  
"Your insolence is amusing, for a human child. Why shouldn't I crush beneath my feet right now?"  
  
The purple-haired teen clenched his fist, preparing to stop his father from doing anything rash.  
  
"Because, you didn't do it to your sassy human girlfriend, did you?"  
  
A look of surprise crossed Vegeta's face. "What? Wait! Damn you, get out of my head!"  
  
Eve laughed.  
  
The elder Saiyan turned to his son from the future, stomped towards him, and pulled him down the hall with an iron grip. When they stopped, Vegeta released his grip.  
  
"What the hell was that for?"  
  
Vegeta slapped the teen. "Don't you dare talk to me like that, boy," he growled. "Do you know what that girl is capable of? She's a goddamn telepath. You're staying away from her from now on."  
  
Trunks matched his eyes with Vegeta. "You are not in the position to tell me anything. You didn't raise me, and I'll be damned if you're going to try to tell me what to do," the teen half-yelled.  
  
Before Vegeta could respond, Trunks stormed away, taking Eve with him to the lift. Vegeta remained where he was, feeling a mixture of anger, relief, and concern. He was glad that the boy finally took a stand against him, but was concerned that he had only done so because of some girl. He'd have to keep an eye on them, especially because of the girl's psychic abilities. She could not be trusted.  
  
Three decks below and falling, Trunks and Eve stood silently in the lift. The former was surprised by his reaction to his father. He hadn't said anything like that before, although he'd thought about it more than once. Why did he jump to Eve's defense so quickly? He hardly knew her, and yet Vegeta's words infuriated him. What's more, he was right to caution him about the girl's potential threat. He finally began to see the connection between his headaches and Eve. He decided to deal with the matter immediately.  
  
"Eve, have the strange feelings in my head been because of you?"  
  
She turned and looked at winked at him.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Oh, Trunks my dear, I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, I have been messing around in your head. I'm sorry, I just can't help myself." Eve curled her lower lip outward moved in close to him, "Please forgive me."  
  
Trunks pushed her away. "No, stop." He half expected her to flip out, as it would match her bizarre behavior, but she merely let out a soft chuckle.  
  
"Oh, you're right. I shouldn't toy with you like this. I'm sorry. This is just how I've had to get by. I know, I don't have to any more...old habits are hard to break, you know?"  
  
Trunks let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I know."  
  
The lift came to a stop and the door whirred open. Trunks motioned her to go ahead of him, when she turned and kissed him on the lips. It was his first kiss. Before he could say anything, Eve put a finger over his mouth.  
  
"I just think you're sweet, that's all. You're a nice guy. I haven't met one in a long time. Don't say anything. Just walk with me." She took his arm in hers and they walked out of the lift down a long corridor. Trunks's heart and mind were racing at a mile a minute, but he dared not say anything; it would have come out as rambling anyway.  
  
Eve kept a lazy smile on her face, but her mind was churning as well. Something inside her was pulling her to engineering, the same part of her that always wanted to look inside everyone's mind. As they approached the engineering section, her heart began to race, and she squeezed Trunks arm tighter. She didn't even bother to think about the signal she was sending to the boy, this was something much greater. By the time they entered main engineering, her legs were weak. When they came before the engine core, something she instinctively knew, she stopped, staring at the vibrant, multi-colored energy whirl behind the transparent casing.  
  
"Trunks! Honey, what are you doing here?" Bulma skipped over to her son from the future. "Oh, it doesn't matter, it's perfect timing! We've solved it!"  
  
"Solved what?"  
  
"We can fold space! We can get to the Acies! Sabre's coming down now!"  
  
"Oh. Uh, great, I guess."  
  
Eve didn't hear any of this. She simply stared at the energy vortex before her, oblivious to the world around here. It wouldn't be long now. 


End file.
